Life Unexpected
by NarikoD
Summary: Ianto finds himself in a peculiar predicament when a baby is discovered growing inside of him, with Jack as the father. The predicament gets worse when its discovered that a bigger plan is at work, and the baby is in the middle of it. Jack/Ianto, Mpreg
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Life Unexpected  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Ianto Jones finds himself in a peculiar predicament when the team's new doctor discovers a baby growing inside of him. To make it more peculiar, Jack is the father. The predicament only gets worse when it's discovered that a much bigger plan is at work, and their baby is right in the middle of it.  
><strong>Beta: <strong>A huge thanks to my betas, the brilliant czarina_kitty who made sure the plot made sense, and the equally brilliant ally_p_x who made sure no Americanisms appeared in my story.  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Jack/Ianto  
><strong>Setting:<strong> Post-season 2  
><strong>Rating:<strong> NC-17  
><strong>Warning: <strong>Mpreg, explicit sex  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>110,082  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Torchwood and all its properties do not belong to me.  
><strong>Author's Note: <strong>The story was written for ianto_bigbang on livejournal, which had been held late last year. The story is already complete so I'll be posting a chapter a day, if RL doesn't get in the way. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>CHAPTER ONE<p>

Ianto bit Jack's shoulder, hands clutching the broad sweaty back as Jack moved inside him. Jack's hard abdomen provided the necessary friction for his aching cock while his prostate was stimulated with every savage thrust. Jack wasn't gentle tonight and Ianto revelled in it. Gentle lovemaking was fine, but a rough fuck was sometimes better.

Jack's breaths were harsh against his ear, and Ianto could hear the occasional praise from Jack's lips ("You're so good"—"You're so tight"—"I love your ass"). Ianto took pride in pleasing Jack in the bedroom, which was no small feat considering that Jack was the epitome of an intergalactic Casanova and has had plenty of lovers, but what really made his ass clench and his cock pulse was Jack moaning his name, growling it, screaming it, whispering it, it didn't matter. Every time his name left Jack's lips when the older man fucked him, it did more to his body than having his cock stroked or his ass pounded.

Ianto arched when a particular thrust brutally struck his prostate. Jack loved to tease sometimes, purposely making his thrusts erratic so his prostate wasn't always hit, but not tonight.

"Come for me, Ianto," Jack whispered.

He did, hard and long, nails digging into Jack's back and eyes clenched shut as he cried out. He shuddered as the final spurts of semen splashed between their bodies, and he lazily opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling as his body cradled Jack's, clenching his inner muscles to give Jack's cock a tighter fit. Ianto knew he liked it when he did that.

A few seconds later, Jack bucked and hissed, face buried in Ianto's neck. Ianto sighed with contentment at the feel of semen inside him. Only in recent weeks had Ianto allowed the abandonment of condoms, a frantic need to be marked by Jack overriding any previous stands to have safe sex with his Casanova. With the deaths of Tosh and Owen, Jack running to his Doctor to put the earth back in its proper place, and another close call with a Dalek, Ianto didn't see any more reason to resist the desire to feel Jack's bare length inside him, to feel his essence filling him. He had wanted to know how it felt like before he died.

Most Torchwood operatives died before they reached their thirtieth birthday (if they weren't initially hired in their thirties, anyway), and Ianto knew it was likely that he would never see that particular number on his birthday cake. Hell, he could die within the next twenty-four hours. While Ianto couldn't trust Jack with his heart, he could at least trust him with his body for what little time he had left before it was his turn to die.

"Evil," Jack murmured, resting on top of him. Ianto didn't mind, for now.

"How am I evil?" He ran a hand down his lover's back.

"You did that clenching thing. You know I can't hold back when you do that." Jack lifted himself onto his elbows to stare down at him. His hair was damp with sweat, his face moist, but his blue eyes were hazy with satisfaction and his lips were curved upwards. He cupped Ianto's cheeks. "You're evil."

Ianto chuckled. Taking hold of Jack's face, he brought his head down for a kiss. It was slow and sensual, a post-coital kiss that had nothing to do with urgency as their tongues lazily mated.

Jack's cock slipped out and the man plopped down on the bed beside him. Ianto turned to place his head on Jack's shoulder, running a hand down the hairless chest that moved up and down as Jack got his breath back. He could faintly hear the light noise of Cardiff outside his opened bedroom window: cars, loud laughter, and a howl of what sounded like a lonely dog—but could just as easily be some sort of alien canine running amok.

It felt good to take a time-out from life and lay next to his lover, letting post-orgasmic bliss run through their bodies for several minutes.

Jack grabbed his hand and lifted it up. "What's this?"

Ianto looked at his hand. Jack was thumbing the bracelet loosely draped around his wrist. "Oh, I forgot about that."

"Where did you get it?"

"A girl gave it to me."

Jack arched a brow. "A girl? Something you need to tell me?"

Ianto used his free hand to lightly hit Jack's stomach. "She looked around ten years old. She walked up to me on the way to the hub, said it was perfect for me. I put it on for her benefit, but then you called and I forgot about it."

Ianto examined his new piece of jewellry. It was smooth thin leather with two tiny charms, both in the shape of a circle with an arrow pointing north-east, the universal sign for a male. It was plain in design, nothing fancy, but Ianto wasn't much into jewellry, not even something that looked so basic. He reached to take it off, but his intentions were stalled when Jack grabbed his hand.

"The girl was on to something. It suits you."

Ianto frowned. "Really?"

"Simple, but elegant. You can hide it under your shirt sleeves." Jack waggled his brows. "Kinky."

Snorting, Ianto rolled his eyes and lowered his hand. "I'll think about it." He pulled away from Jack and rolled away so his back was to Jack. "Now go get a flannel."

Jack chuckled and Ianto squirmed when he felt fingers caressing his sensitive opening. He could feel Jack's semen trickling out. "You know, if you clench your ass muscles it wouldn't be coming out."

Ianto flushed red. He wasn't used to having another man's come spilling out of his ass no matter how many times he did this. "Jack—"

"Or we could do this."

He gasped when he felt Jack's tongue probe his hole. He bit his lip and closed his eyes as he was rimmed clean. God, when Jack first introduced rimming to him, Ianto had been appalled, and it had taken Jack weeks before Ianto allowed him to do it. It had taken another few weeks before he had allowed Jack to kiss him right after rimming Ianto's ass. Ianto used to force him to brush his teeth before letting Jack shove his tongue down Ianto's throat.

And right now, he enjoyed having Jack tonguing his pucker, making his cock rise with new interest as he felt his entrance twitching with need.

He wanted Jack inside him again.

When Jack pulled away and spooned behind him, teeth nibbling at his ear, Ianto grabbed his hand and wrapped it around his cock as he snuggled his ass against Jack's groin, happy to discover Jack's erection. "Again," Ianto whispered, lifting his leg and silently telling Jack what he wanted.

"You need sleep." Despite his words, Jack shifted until the head of his cock nudged Ianto's entrance.

Jack was probably right. Without Tosh and Owen, the workload was split among three people and Ianto was barely getting enough sleep. There just didn't seem time to do anything more, all their attention focused on restoring Cardiff as aliens come out of hiding to rain havoc on the vulnerable public. But lack of time also meant lack of sex, and in the past month this was only the sixth time they'd managed to sneak away for a couple of hours to Ianto's flat for a fuck that would last much longer than the four-minute quickies they'd been having. He didn't want to waste the little time they had with sleep.

"Sleep later, fuck now."

Jack nuzzled the back of his neck. "Insatiable."

Ianto groaned when Jack slipped inside him. Yes, this is what he needed now. Just this. Just Jack.

* * *

><p>Terry Burton was thirty-six, thin, redheaded, and enthralled with Jack.<p>

Ianto wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He was glad Jack had taken the initiative and hired a new doctor, no doubt a result from Gwen's close call a couple of weeks ago when they had chased down a hostile alien intent on eating the earth's electronics and killing anything that got in its way. They had managed to kick the alien back to its own planet, but Gwen had been carried away in an ambulance with five three-inch puncture wounds in her abdomen.

With Terry, they now had another team member who they could take out into the field—once he was properly trained with a gun—and who the others could go to for medical treatment when they wanted to avoid the hospitals.

Unfortunately for Ianto, Terry's inclusion into their team also meant another person who fawned over Jack. Ianto was used to seeing men, women, and even aliens flirt with Jack and vice versa, and he accepted it. Accepting it, though, didn't mean it wasn't a bother, because it was a bother. It bothered him a lot.

And it wasn't so much others flirting with Jack that bothered him, it was how Jack always flirted back and sometimes took it too far. Verbal flirtation was harmless, but it was the touching that drove Ianto crazy. A hand on a thigh, a thumb on a pouty bottom lip, knuckles brushing against a cheek. Jack was constantly touching the people he flirted with, and Terry was no different. It amused him to see how anxious Terry was to impress Jack, but it hurt him to see Jack touch Terry the way he touched Ianto. Jack sometimes made Ianto special, but when he touched Terry like that—right in front of him—it made him feel like he was just one more in a long line of people who Jack made feel special.

Jack didn't even seem to realize he was doing it, the bastard.

Ianto hated his insecurities, hated that he was too afraid to spoil his fragile relationship with Jack to speak up about them, but most of all he hated Jack for being so easy to fall for.

The whistle of the coffee machine startled him out of his dark thoughts and he stubbornly shook his head. He told himself to get over it. He knew Jack belonged to no one. Ianto could never have all of him and he would just have to deal with Jack's flirtation. He repeated his pep talk as he made coffee for his teammates.

Ten minutes later he was carrying a tray with three steaming mugs. Gwen was in front of her computer, a frown on her face as she examined reports of unnamed creatures making appearances in London. He carefully placed her mug by her elbow.

She smiled at him, the gap between her teeth visible. "Thanks, love."

As she grabbed her mug with both hands, he nodded at the screen. "Anything good?"

She took a sip, eyes blissfully closed for a few seconds. "This is so good," she whispered, making Ianto smile. Gwen then shook her head and opened her eyes to look at the screen. "That, not so much. The reports say that the creatures look like dogs, except they have antlers and six legs. Four in the front, two in the back." She looked up at him. "Any aliens with that description?"

Ianto frowned, trying to remember if he stumbled upon any matching descriptions in the Archives, but he eventually shook his head. "I never heard of that kind of alien." He shrugged one shoulder. "Then again, the Archives are still in chaos. It's possible we have information on such creatures, but I have yet to stumble upon the file. I could look for you if you want."

She waved her hand. "Don't fret. I'll deal with this by myself."

Ianto arched a brow. "You really suspect these creatures are real?"

"I'm curious is all. Now that Cardiff is settling down from the earth moving and Terry is working with us, I have more time." She pointed at her computer. "I'll make this my own special project."

"I'll let you know if I find any file that might be helpful to you."

"Thanks."

Ianto moved away and headed towards the medical bay, pausing in his steps when he discovered it empty. Terry spent a lot of time down here, examining alien carcasses, alien blood, and alien DNA, among other things. It reminded Ianto of Owen and how the late doctor used to spend hours in the medical bay, conducting experiments and autopsies of the alien kind. It made Ianto smile sadly whenever those kinds of memories were brought up to the surface. He and Owen had never been best friends, but they got along as fine as any two men could without strangling each other. Verbal barbs had been their way of expressing friendship.

Ianto spied a glass container sitting on top of a tiny flare coming from a piece of metal on the counter in the medical bay. Ianto was pretty sure that flare was alien tech, but he wasn't so sure if the green liquid inside the beaker was supposed to bubble over the rim like that. It was already making a mess.

Yep, definitely like Owen.

He returned to the main hub and glanced up at Jack's office. He spotted Jack at his desk, and leaning against the desk was Terry. Ianto scowled, that flicker of jealousy making him uncomfortable. He muttered to himself as he walked to Jack's office, plastering on a smile when he entered.

Terry glanced at him and smiled. "Coffee!" He grabbed his mug when Ianto was close enough.

Ianto smiled slightly, his jealousy dampened by Terry's enthusiastic response to the hot brew. It was funny how child-like Terry could be when given coffee despite being more than a decade older than Ianto. It was what made it so hard to dislike the doctor.

In all honesty, Ianto really had no problem with Terry, could even come to genuinely like him as a friend. He just wished he could find a way to get rid of the jealousy he felt every time he saw Terry and Jack together.

He turned to Jack and handed him his mug. Jack was smiling and Ianto felt his own smile soften, a much more intimate smile than the ones he gave to anyone else.

"Gwen found herself a new project."

"With what?" Jack sipped his coffee.

"Creatures in London. Dog-like, but they have antlers and two extra legs."

"That could be any number of species."

"You'll probably be more useful to her than me. Speaking of projects." Ianto turned to Terry. "Your green liquid is boiling."

Terry looked lost for a moment before his eyes widened. He gasped and hastily placed his mug down on Jack's desk before running out of the office. Terry's hasty movements spilled some coffee over the rim of the mug and onto a few papers scattered across Jack's desk. Ianto scowled.

He placed the tray down. "These better not be anything we have to send to the Prime Minister." It galled him to have important documents stained with liquid and food. It spoke of unprofessionalism, and Ianto most certainly didn't like himself or Torchwood to be labelled as unprofessional. It was a difficult task to achieve when one worked with colleagues such as Jack, who followed his own method of work ethics and plugged his ears whenever someone from the government called to complain.

Jack clamped a hand around his wrist when he reached for a soiled paper. "Leave it." He tugged and Ianto grunted when he nearly sprawled across Jack's lap.

"Jack!"

The smug bastard grinned and arranged Ianto until he was sitting on his lap, one arm firmly wrapped around him, another reaching up to grab at Ianto's chin and positioning his face for a kiss.

When their lips pressed together, Ianto moaned, his ire slipping away. It was difficult to feel anything other than desire when Jack kissed him.

Jack pulled away. "You're still wearing it."

Ianto felt Jack's fingers probing at the leather bracelet through his cuff. "It isn't too distracting." Ianto could hear the defensive tone in his voice.

Ianto had opted to wear the bracelet for only a couple of days, but two weeks later and Ianto still wore the bloody thing because he noticed the way Jack's eyes darkened with lust every time he spied the bracelet on Ianto's wrist, an observation that left Ianto befuddled. Remembering Jack's comment of the bracelet being kinky, Ianto could only assume that the bracelet reminded Jack of their kinkier adventures in bed.

Ianto's limited sexual world had broadened to areas that he never would have contemplated before. Ianto now knew the softness of leather cuffs wrapped around his wrists and ankles as he was chained to the bed spread-eagled, the tightness of a leather cock ring keeping his penis erect while Jack used all sorts of toys and devices on his exposed body, the braided strands of a flog that lightly hit his back, and even the feel of a leather collar wrapped around his throat. All these and more made him feel like Jack's personal plaything, and Ianto enjoyed it. Ianto wouldn't be surprised if their kinky adventures were fondly remembered every time Jack looked at the bracelet.

An assumption proved accurate when Jack murmured, "How do you feel about being tied to my bed tonight?"

Ianto tried to look affronted, but it was difficult to do so when his breath caught and his dick stirred. He opted for indifference. "If you're good." He ignored Jack's pout and got off his lap, straightening his suit. He grabbed his tray and started out of the office. He paused at the doorway and glanced over his shoulder. "If you finish the paperwork by eight and if the rift is quiet, I'll be naked in your bed waiting for instructions, sir."

He smirked at the sound of a pen scribbling. Jack was so predictable sometimes. The promise of sex always spurred Jack into doing his paperwork.

He was halfway down the stairs when his surroundings suddenly spun. He grabbed at the railing to prevent himself from falling down the metal staircase, the vertigo making him want to vomit. Lightheaded, he feared passing out and he closed his eyes, clutching at the railing as he caught his bearings. The vertigo ceased and he carefully opened his eyes. Nothing moved. He shook his head, unsure of what just happened.

Lunch, he decided. It was past three and he hasn't eaten anything since breakfast, and it had been a paltry breakfast of coffee and a pastry. No wonder he was feeling dizzy.

He was grateful no one saw his moment of weakness. Ianto was accustomed to taking care of others during their weak moments, but he did his best to hide his own. He wasn't comfortable with anyone seeing him as anything but strong, and only when he was truly stressed or emotionally wrought did he dare expose his weaknesses, mostly because he couldn't hold it back.

He carefully walked down the last few steps and sighed in relief when the vertigo didn't return.

"So," he called out, making sure he had everyone's attention, "anyone up for Thai?"

* * *

><p>Jack stayed low behind the crate, peeking around the big wooden box. Seeing no one, he circled the crate before darting behind another one. He tapped the comm in his ear. "Gwen? Ianto? Anything?"<p>

"Nope," Gwen responded. "I don't see it."

"I hear it." Ianto's voice was noticeably quieter. "Third floor, towards the back. Should I try to apprehend it before it gets away?"

Jack took a quick moment to consider his options. The Sakaloponuois—a humanoid species that worshipped water—were hostile when confronted and he didn't like the idea of Ianto going on the offensive. It was only one Sakaloponuois, but its claws were covered in poison. One scratch could do a lot of damage. With Jack on the second floor and Gwen somewhere on the forth, he didn't want to risk Ianto getting poisoned while they were too far away to help.

He wasn't going to lose another team member.

"Stay where you are, Ianto. Don't engage." Jack began walking towards the staircase. "I'm heading up. Gwen? Meet me on the third floor."

"I may not have a choice, Jack. It's starting to get close to where I'm—"

Ianto muttered something Jack couldn't understand and Jack hit the staircase running when he heard gunshots and the unmistakable high-pitched scream that could only belong to the alien. He reached the third floor at the same time as Gwen, hearing the sound of glass shattering. Guns at the ready, he kicked down the door that led to another large storage area and pointed his weapon as he walked inside, Gwen close at his heels. It was silent; the only thing audible was the lapping waves in the bay. He found a broken window, and glanced through the makeshift opening but saw nothing except dark waters and an ever darker sky.

"Ianto!" His shout echoed throughout the area.

"Over here."

Jack moved across the room until he found Ianto leaning against the wall, head bowed and gun dangling from one hand. He lifted his head. "It got away. Jumped out the window."

"Gwen?"

"On it." Gwen made her way to where Ianto pointed, hand at her comm as she contacted Terry, who had remained at the hub to help them track down the slippery alien.

He grabbed Ianto's shoulders. "You okay?"

Ianto inhaled sharply. "I shot at it. The bullet struck its arm but then it got—I don't know, stuck."

"Their flesh isn't like ours. It's like gelatin, so it slows down anything that pierces it at a high velocity." He frowned. "But that wasn't my question."

Ianto skirted his eyes away. Jack narrowed his own. He knew that evasive technique. Ianto wasn't telling him something, and didn't look like he wanted to.

When it came to Ianto, Jack had to pick and pry to get underneath the mask the young man seemed fond of wearing. Ianto wasn't like Gwen. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and mostly everyone knew exactly where they stood with her. Piss her off and Gwen would bite your head off. Ianto, on the other hand, did all he could to keep every single emotion he felt bottled up inside until he exploded. Jack was learning how to catch Ianto's moods, but it wasn't easy.

But that evasive look? That was one of the things he learned early on about Ianto. He shifted his eyes slightly, never looking at Jack straight in the eye, always at the bridge of his nose or around his eyebrows to make it look like he did. Jack never called him on it because he knew Ianto would try to avoid doing it in the future. Jack was not about to give away what was practically his only advantage in reading his young lover.

"Ianto." Jack grabbed Ianto's chin. "Are you okay?"

He huffed and straightened, as if that would make him look far more energetic than he truly was. "I got dizzy."

"Dizzy?"

"Yes, dizzy. Head spinning, vertigo—" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I dropped my gun and the noise gave my position away. Barely had time to grab it before it found me."

There was more. Jack could tell that Ianto wasn't telling the whole story by the way he kept avoiding his gaze. Did something else happen? Gwen returned before he could ask, but he shot Ianto a look that said this conversation wasn't over. Ianto pulled away, but his slight grimace told him the silent message was received.

"According to Terry, it went into the water." She holstered her weapon. "What happened?"

"It found me." Ianto shrugged. "I shot at it, but its flesh decided to absorb my bullet like gelatin. Something Jack had failed to mention."

"I said bullets wouldn't work. Same difference."

They left the abandoned building, the mission to retrieve the alien a failure for the moment. The Sakaloponuois looked human enough to blend in, and any extra features like the gills in its necks and the two fins on its back were easily hidden or explained. With crazy tattoos and extravagant make-up being used to modify one's body in this century, the most hideous of aliens could pretend to be humans in disguise. But eventually the Sakaloponuois would no longer be able to blend in once it opened its mouth. Their language involved high-pitched sounds that no human could make.

As he drove back to the hub, Jack glanced in the rearview mirror to look at Ianto who sat in the backseat. The young man's eyes were closed, his bottom lip trapped by his upper teeth. Such a little thing would have turned Jack on during any other occasion, but Ianto's face was ashen, looking very much ill, and when Jack glanced over his shoulder he noted the hand pressed tightly against Ianto's belly, as if he was trying to tell his stomach to settle down before it decided to spew all of its contents.

Jack knew his driving wouldn't win any prizes. He was fast, at times reckless, and it was a miracle that he hadn't crashed into anything just yet. Gwen and Ianto constantly complained in their own ways that they feared for their lives when he drove. Gwen was always grabbing onto the dashboard during his swift turns or Ianto was clutching onto his seatbelt during a reckless manoeuvre.

But his driving never caused anyone to get sick, so why did Ianto look like he was going to throw up any second?

First a dizzy spell and now nausea. Jack felt the slight curl of unease he had felt earlier expand to concern. Was Ianto sick? Jack tried to think back over the past few days to pick out any moments that would point at Ianto having an illness, but all he managed to recall were light-hearted conversations, a couple of alien chases, and Weevil hunting that ended with hot sex in the backseat of the SUV. At no point did Ianto seem sick in any way, and never did the young man mention feeling ill. Not that he would.

Jack wished Ianto trusted him just enough to mention the tiny things. Perhaps it wasn't fair to expect a certain level of trust when Jack kept many secrets of his own, but there were some secrets Jack couldn't expose in order to prevent paradoxes.

All right, yes, there were some secrets he kept that wouldn't risk world catastrophe if he shared them, but there were just some things he didn't want to talk about, such as his time as a reckless conman who charmed and flirted his way through scheme after scheme without an iota of guilt. He didn't consider that proper dating conversation or ideal pillow talk.

But there should be some level of trust between them, right? They'd managed to go out on a few dates, spend time together that didn't involve missions out into the city to find rogue aliens or misplaced alien technology. They'd grown closer, both emotionally and physically, since the devastation that Gray and John brought to Cardiff, and Jack comforted Ianto through the hard nights when the Welshman could no longer pretend that everything was all right in his world. Their relationship was still fragile at best, but Jack's attempts to solidify it should be enough to let Ianto know that he could approach him with something as basic as sickness.

When they reached the Hub, Jack said nothing while they unloaded the SUV. As soon as they entered the base, however, Jack pulled Ianto into his office and pinned him with a stare.

"What aren't you telling me? And don't think I didn't see your attempt to not throw up in the SUV."

Ianto slumped down on the couch that rested against the wall. "It's not a big deal." The exhaustion in his voice clearly told a different tale.

Jack sat down next to him. "What's going on with you?"

Ianto sighed and rolled his shoulders, as though trying to relieve the burden that sat on them. "I've been feeling a little off for the last couple of weeks: nausea at odd times, usually in the mornings, and dizzy spells that come out of nowhere."

"Have you spoken to Terry?"

"It's not a big deal," Ianto repeated, this time with an insistent tone in his voice.

"Your dizziness cost us an alien." Ianto winced at Jack's blunt reminder. It was a policy of theirs to not coddle each other when it involved Torchwood matters. The line between professional and personal blurred constantly with their relationship, but it wasn't nonexistent. "Have Terry take a look at you."

"It's nothing, Jack. It's probably stress."

"It wasn't a suggestion." Jack stood and held out a hand. "There's a reason why we hired Terry in the first place." He wriggled his fingers when Ianto hesitated. "You can either walk into the medical bay on your own two feet or you can be carried there thrown over my shoulder."

Ianto scowled. "No need for bloody threats." He nevertheless placed his hand in Jack's and allowed him to help him off the couch.

Terry was bent over a microscope, eye against the eyepiece while he held a pencil poised over an opened notebook laid next to it, when they reached the medical bay. The doctor was so absorbed in whatever he was examining that he hadn't heard the men's arrival.

Jack smiled brightly. "We have a patient for you."

The doctor started and spun around, glaring at them. "Bloody quiet, the lot of you. And what patient?" His eyes looked over their shoulders, perhaps expecting an alien behind them. Since hiring Terry a month ago, the only patients he'd seen had been aliens, dead and alive. The Sakaloponuois would have been the closest thing to a human Terry examined.

Jack pointed at Ianto. "One hundred percent human, Doc." He looked at Ianto. "Tell him your symptoms."

"I don't need you telling me what to do," Ianto grumbled.

Jack rolled his eyes. "He's been getting dizzy spells and nausea."

"For how long?" Terry removed the latex gloves on his hands and tossed them in the bin before taking out a new pair and putting them on.

"Couple of weeks."

Looking resigned, Ianto made his way to the medical table when Terry pointed at it. He hopped on and glared at Jack. "It's nothing."

"I'll be the judge of that, Jones. Take off your shirt."

Ianto did as told. "Make yourself useful," Ianto said, thrusting his tie at Jack. "Hold my clothes."

Jack automatically took the tie and the other articles of clothing Ianto gave him, but his eyes were on the pale skin Ianto exposed. He licked his lips when he saw Ianto's nipples stiffen into tight little buds in the cool air of the medical bay. Jack had had many lovers over his long lifespan, but Ianto was definitely the most gorgeous of his chosen lovers. If Terry wasn't there, Jack would have pounced, taking one hard nub between his teeth. He could remember the first time he'd done that to Ianto and the choked gasp that revealed his surprise at Jack's actions, and the pleasure he no doubt hadn't expected to feel from his nipple being sucked. Ianto had later admitted that he had no idea his nipples could be that sensitive.

It was a bit vain, but Jack took great joy in being Ianto's first in many of their sexual activities, most notably being his first male lover (there was nothing more satisfying than introducing a man to gay sex), but he found that he liked showing Ianto different sides of himself; broadening his sexual horizons, so to speak. That's why he enjoyed that small strip of leather around Ianto's wrist that he was now in the process of slipping off to hand over. A leather bracelet wasn't something that Ianto would normally wear, but it was just a hint of Ianto's wild side that truly came out when he was in Jack's bed.

Terry used his stethoscope to check Ianto's lungs and heartbeat before asking questions about his diet and what his exercise regime was. Jack held back a snort at the latter question. An exercise regime in Torchwood was running. A lot of running.

Terry drew blood from Ianto's left arm and when he turned away to do whatever he was going to do with the vial of blood, Jack moved close to the medical table and leaned forward until he could whisper in Ianto's ear.

"I think a full body inspection is needed, don't you?" He nipped at Ianto's earlobe and managed to flick at a bare nipple with his finger after wiggling his arm around Ianto.

Ianto slapped his hand and glared at Jack over his shoulder. "Stop it," he hissed. He glanced at Terry, whose back was to them. "And if you think you'll be seeing more than this—" He gestured his naked upper body. "—anytime soon, you have another thing coming."

"There is nothing wrong with making sure that you're okay." He pressed his forehead against Ianto's bare shoulder. "Especially now." He couldn't bear to lose anyone so soon when only a few of months ago he had cradled a dying Tosh in his arms in this very same area.

There was a long moment of silence before Ianto's hand was cradling his head, arm awkwardly angled. "Maybe if you're good, I'll let you use my mouth in your office to get off."

Ianto's words were hushed so only Jack could hear, but they made him smile.

"You said Ianto was one hundred percent human, right?"

Jack lifted his head and nodded at Terry, who had turned around and was looking at them with a peculiar expression. Perhaps Terry overheard them, or maybe took note of their odd, albeit intimate, embrace. Terry wasn't informed that Jack and Ianto were together, but they didn't exactly put any effort into announcing their involvement to the world. They weren't hiding it; they just never really brought it up.

Their physical actions—a kiss, a touch, sex in the greenhouse where anyone could walk in—usually did the trick to inform people they were together, and that was enough. Thus far, Terry hadn't seen any of their more intimate physical actions. A shame, really. Jack could still remember Gwen's shocked expression when she had walked in on them having sex. Jack could only imagine how Terry would react.

"Yes," Ianto responded to Terry's question. "Born and bred right here in Cardiff by two very human parents."

Terry drummed his fingers on the counter behind him. "Something's going on with your blood. It has a hormone called hCG, short for human chronic gonadotropin." He paused and looked at them both.

"I have no idea what that is." Ianto looked at Jack. "Do you?"

Jack shook his head. His concern suddenly upgraded to outright worry. He took comfort in the fact that Terry didn't look worried, simply perplexed. Surely if something was terribly wrong with Ianto's health, the redhead would look grimmer. He nodded at Terry to continue.

"That's a hormone that is only supposed to appear in the blood of women." Another pause, as though he was waiting for them to get what he was trying to say. Jack was blank. What did a hormone in women have to do with Ianto? Terry finally added, "Pregnant women."

Well, shit.

Jack thought he heard wrong. He must have heard wrong. That was the only explanation, because if he had heard right, Terry was telling him a hormone that pregnant women had was running in Ianto's blood, which meant—

Impossible. Had to be impossible. Maybe he was seeing too deeply into it. Or maybe this was some joke. A prank.

He stared at the doctor, waiting for the punch line. There was none, just that same perplexed stare. Terry couldn't possibly mean . . .

"So what are you saying?" Ianto's voice was odd, apprehensive and just a bit disbelieving.

"What I'm saying is that according to your blood, you're pregnant."

* * *

><p>Ianto kept his eyes on the bland ceiling of the medical bay. There were a couple of cracks in the otherwise pristine paint and he wondered if he should fix that. Not that anyone would care. Terry certainly hadn't mentioned anything, and if the doctor didn't care then Ianto shouldn't worry.<p>

Thinking of the ceiling, however, kept his mind off the scan Terry was currently performing to confirm his impossible diagnosis that Ianto had a baby inside him.

Well, maybe not a baby just yet. Embryo. Or was it foetus? When did an embryo become a foetus? Jesus, how long had the thing been inside him? He wasn't showing, so maybe not too long. Was it even alive? Didn't he need a uterus? And how the hell would it come out? Oh God, what if it wasn't human at all, just an alien embryo using his insides as a home to grow and develop and maybe try to eat its way out of him? Just what he needed, an alien growing inside of him.

He closed his eyes and turned his head away, as if that would be enough to keep the swirling thoughts away. He felt fingers in his hair, but ignored them as he waited for the result.

"No doubt about it, Ianto's pregnant. See here?"

He heard Jack make some kind of noise. Morbid curiosity made him open his eyes to seek out the monitor Terry dragged over. One long, slim, latex-covered finger pointed at the screen. Ianto saw a clear view of his organs, and if Terry wasn't pointing at it, he would have missed the tiny sac floating very close to said organs.

"And it's human?" Jack asked.

"Completely human. You're not too far along, Ianto. About a month, I reckon." Terry lowered his hand and spun in the stool he occupied. "Questions?"

Ianto couldn't take his eyes off the screen. "This is absurd."

"A year ago I would've agreed with you, but nowadays . . ." Terry shrugged.

"It has to be someone else's baby." Ianto looked up at Jack. "Like Gwen with the Nostrovite egg."

"Let's see." Terry tapped a few buttons on the keyboard beneath the monitor. The image zoomed in on the sac. A white circle surrounded the embryo and two small windows opened, revealing pictures of Jack and Ianto. Written text appeared under the two pictures. "Scan says that the embryo contains DNA from both you and . . . Jack." Terry's eyes widened, head swivelling around to stare at them both. "This is your baby. Yours and . . . Jack's."

Ianto ignored Terry's surprised stare and tone. "How is that fucking possible?" Ianto looked at Jack again for answers.

He didn't know why he expected Jack to have the answers to the anomaly that was resting inside of him, except that Jack was probably the only one who might know more about male pregnancy than anyone else. How many times did the immortal report that he would never get pregnant again? Ianto didn't necessarily believe it, but considering that there was an embryo inside of him . . . Fuck, he just wanted someone to tell him how the hell this happened.

"Human male pregnancy doesn't become possible until the forty-fifth century, but only with the aid of technology and advances in the medical field. No pure human male can become impregnated naturally." Jack looked at him. "Alien tech might have done this to you. Any accidents down in the Archives you refrained from telling me about?"

Ianto thought back. He was careful with the items he handled down there, making sure not to drop anything or open any locked machinery he didn't know about. Nothing had glowed, nothing had scanned him, nothing had latched onto his body. He shook his head.

"Maybe you had an accident without realizing it."

"And then had sex with you. Bloody brilliant." He laughed, the sound bordering on hysteria. Neither of the other men commented on it.

Ianto never thought that this would be one consequence of shagging Jack. He had prepared for diseases (one had to with someone as free loving as Jack), and until recently, he had always ensured that Jack never penetrated him without a condom in place. Ianto was a man; pregnancy was the last thing he worried about when he was in Jack's bed, and yet, that was the one thing that happened.

In some roundabout way, Ianto should have expected something like this to happen. When it came to being with Jack, whether it was as his employee, his friend, or his lover, something bizarre and completely impossible always happened.

"I knew I should have never allowed you to fuck me without a condom," he muttered. He really didn't care that he said it loud enough for Terry to hear. It didn't much matter with the sac inside of him, now did it?

"Hey, don't tell me that fucking without latex wasn't better than fucking with it. Didn't our sex life become much more intense without it?"

Ianto glowered, unable to say anything back without sounding petulant.

Terry cleared his throat, getting their attention. His green eyes were wide as they ping-ponged between them. "You mean you two are . . .?" There was disappointment in his eyes.

Ianto felt a sudden surge of irrational anger towards Terry, a result of the stress and the frustration at this newest predicament he found himself in (and maybe a hint of that jealousy that Ianto never fully managed to get rid of played a role in his anger as well). He was lying there with a foreign thing inside of him in which no one could tell him how or even why it ended up inside of him to begin with, and all Terry could do was look at them with sad woe-me eyes, upset that his precious hero was shagging someone else—shagging another colleague.

"Don't worry," Ianto sniped, unable to bite his tongue. "I'm sure he'll be willing to fuck you anyway."

"Ianto." Jack's voice was sharp, angry.

He didn't really care. In fact, it felt kind of good to finally speak his mind without censoring himself, and he felt very little guilt about the startled and embarrassed look Terry was giving him. He climbed off the table and grabbed his clothes, which Jack had left in a neat pile on the counter. "I need a minute." He shrugged off Jack's hand and shot up the stairs, reaching the main hub.

He heard Jack's footsteps behind him. "Damn it, Ianto—"

Still angry, confused, and so very lost, he spun around and shouted, "Do not follow me!"

Jack froze. Gwen, who stood up from her desk to see what the commotion was about, watched them with wide eyes. Ianto saw Terry climb the stairs to stare at him. It made Ianto acutely aware that it wouldn't help his case if he stormed out like a madman.

Ianto ignored the latter two and focused on Jack, making an effort to lower his voice. "Please, don't follow me." He saw the conflict in Jack's face. "I need to process this. I'll go home and process this, but I need to be myself. Please."

Jack didn't answer, but when Ianto turned and walked out of the hub, no one followed.

* * *

><p>Ianto wasn't exactly sure if he was processing it.<p>

He sat at his kitchen table, a cup of tea that has long since cooled sitting in front of him. He knew he should eat, but he wasn't sure what was in the fridge and doubted he could keep anything down anyway. He simply sat at the table and stared at the tan liquid in the porcelain cup. He wasn't a big fan of tea, but he wasn't a big fan of decaf, either, and he didn't need the caffeine that coffee would give him.

It wasn't often that Ianto got to stay home during the evening. More often than not, if he was at home in the evenings it was because he was seriously hurt and was forced to stay home, or because he was too sick to go into work, but it was never for leisure. That was one thing Ianto had learned right away about how different Jack's Torchwood was from London Torchwood. There was no such thing as normal working hours, and late shifts quickly morphed into overnight shifts on a daily basis.

Despite the free time he had now, he didn't have the energy to take advantage of it.

Since the moment he entered his flat, he's done his best to not think about his predicament. He dared not think about it. Just the thought that he was carrying a baby threatened to drive him into hysterics, and Ianto did not do hysterics. He was well known for his stoicism and was quite proud of his tight control over his emotions. The little outburst earlier was a mishap that he didn't want to repeat, not even in the privacy of his own home.

Ironically, not thinking of his predicament somehow led to thoughts about fatherhood in general. He had never expected to have children of any sort. With Lisa, there had been the possibility, but after Canary Wharf and his failure to cure her, Ianto knew children would not be a part of his future. He wasn't going to live past the age of thirty—he would be lucky to even reach that age—and his chosen lover was a male, and Ianto hardly considered himself father material. What would he do with children? Ianto was good at taking care of the team, but the team was made up of full grown adults. They were all raised, knew what they wanted out of life, and had their lives in order. Ianto took care of them in other ways that wouldn't affect how they end up in the future.

Not like kids. Kids needed guidance, rules, boundaries. What kind of guidance could Ianto give them? What rules were appropriate? And what boundaries would they need? Frankly, the idea of being a father made him break out in a cold sweat.

When he and Lisa had discussed children, Lisa had known that she would be a stay-at-home mother. No job in the world would be more rewarding than being a mother, she had said. That had left Ianto as the breadwinner, and their preordained roles in what they thought would be their future family had pleased him because he had figured that even if he turned out to be a bad father, at least his kids would grow up under the guidance of a good mother.

He heard the sound of keys unlocking his door, taking him out of his musings. The kitchen was separated from the living room by a long counter, and from his vantage point, he could see the door slowly swing open. Jack entered the living room, looking around until his eyes landed on him.

Ianto didn't bother with greetings. "I wanted to be by myself."

"You've been by yourself long enough. It's past midnight."

Startled, Ianto glanced at the clock hanging above the stove. Sure enough, it read twelve-fifteen, and he remembered sitting down at the table with his tea at seven. Hell, he'd been sitting at the table for almost five hours and hadn't realized it.

Jack walked into the kitchen and deposited a bag on the table before taking the empty chair across him and settling down on it. "I brought you a sandwich. I would prefer you eat something more substantial, but I doubt you'll be able to keep it down." He took out the sandwich and removed it from the wrapped packaging. He used a napkin as a makeshift plate and placed the sandwich on it.

"I'm not hungry." Ianto heard the petulance in his own words and cursed it.

"Don't care. You have to eat."

Ianto eyed him. "Why are you so calm about this?" There was no need to explain what Ianto was referring to.

"Pregnant men aren't new to me. Besides, I've seen so much out there that a pregnant man isn't high up on the list of things that can shock me." Jack clasped his hands together on the table. "What is a surprise to me is that the pregnant man is you." He nodded his chin towards the sandwich. "Eat it. I don't care if it tastes like ash."

More to shut the man up than any desire to give into his demands, Ianto grabbed the sandwich and took a tiny bite out of it. He tasted turkey and some sort of sauce that had his taste buds exploding. Suddenly ravenous, he barely restrained himself from attacking his light meal, settling for large bites until it was all gone.

Ianto got up to take out a chilled bottle of water from the refrigerator. He took a long swallow before facing Jack, who was studying him.

"I don't know why this happened to me," Ianto said after several seconds of silence. He leaned against the fridge and rolled the cold bottle between his palms. "It could've happened to you, or even Terry, but no, it had to happen to me, and that is fucking unfair."

"What else can you expect from Torchwood?" Jack laughed. "About the only thing you can expect is the unexpected."

"Don't." Ianto stared at the floor between his bare feet. He had changed out of his clothes as soon as he arrived home, and was dressed in nothing more than his pyjama bottoms and a robe to chase away the chill in the air. "This isn't funny. Don't make jokes."

"Right. Sorry." Ianto heard the scrape of the chair and Jack's boots were suddenly in his line of vision. He face was cupped and lifted so he could look into Jack's face, void of any other expression except concern. "This isn't the end of the world. There are options to remove it."

Ianto blinked. "There is?"

Jack chuckled fondly. "All the technology we have at our disposal, and you didn't realize that any one of those could take it out?"

No, he hadn't. He had been so concerned with having something that didn't belong inside of him taking residence in his stomach that he hadn't considered the options for taking it out. The singularity scalpel came to mind, the device easily vaporizing anything that rested inside another object—or human.

He closed his eyes in relief. Giving into a sudden urge, he straightened away from the fridge and pressed himself against the immortal, silently asking for reassurance. He smiled when Jack wrapped his arms around him. The utter calmness from Jack about the removal of the sac made him curious, though.

He tilted his head to look at him. "You don't want it?" Jack arched a brow. "The baby. I mean, you seem more than happy to get rid of it."

"I'm being practical. We're Torchwood. A baby doesn't belong in our lives." A shadow passed through his eyes. Ianto bit his tongue to stop himself from asking about it. "We're stretched thin as it is, and a baby will only complicate matters. Not to mention the risks to your health and body if the baby develops. We don't have the resources or advances that would ease the pregnancy. Assuming it could reach full term, of course." He ran a hand through Ianto's hair. "We'll talk with Terry."

Hearing the doctor's name reminded Ianto of how he had snapped at him earlier. Now that he was in a lighter mood, the guilt he had failed to feel earlier decided to make an entrance, and he flushed with shame. He lowered his gaze. "I need to apologize."

"No need. He understood. Said it was probably a combination of shock and hormonal imbalance."

"I don't have a hormonal imbalance." Ianto sighed. "And I don't have excuses. I shouldn't have said what I said."

"No, you shouldn't have." Jack nuzzled his temple. "You know you're the only one, right?"

Ianto knew what he was referring to. He simply shrugged.

"Ianto, I haven't slept with anyone else and don't plan to sleep with anyone else as long as I'm with you. You're the only one."

He wondered if that included Gwen, but decided not to mention it. Besides, his words weren't a guarantee of any sort. Jack may promise physical fidelity, but Ianto knew there was no such thing as emotional fidelity in Captain Jack Harkness's world. That was something Ianto could never have, and while he didn't need all of Jack's love, at the very least he wanted to be the one Jack loved the most. Reality told him that the proud owner of most of Jack's love was Gwen Cooper.

Still, he gave Jack a smile. "So there won't be any shagging between you and Terry when I'm not looking?"

Jack grinned. "The only shagging that will be done between me and him is if you're in the middle."

He accepted Jack's kiss and wrapped his arms around him. "Take me to bed," he mumbled against Jack's lips.

Jack did as requested and for just a little while, Ianto didn't have to think about anything at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **Thank you for the lovely reviews!

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER TWO<strong>

Reality, of course, couldn't be suspended for long.

The following morning, Jack left his flat, but ordered Ianto to stay in bed and rest. Feeling tired from the stress he experienced the day before, Ianto didn't argue.

As a result, he was the last one to come into work. He made coffees and delivered them to their respective owners. He approached Gwen, wondering if she had been informed of the situation. One look at her sympathetic and curious gaze told him that she knew everything.

"And here I thought I would be the first to get pregnant," she gently teased when he handed her the coffee.

Ianto smiled. With the knowledge that this situation would soon be over, he felt no need to rebuke her joke at his expense. "Believe me, I would've preferred that you be the first and only one to get pregnant. Rhys would've been ecstatic."

Gwen laughed. "Oh, no. No children for me for a good couple of years." She grabbed his arm. "How are you doing, pet?"

"I'm as all right as a pregnant man can be, I suppose." Despite his jealousy over the strong hold she had over Jack, Gwen was still one of his closest friends. Ianto knew he could tell her anything and she wouldn't betray his trust. "It's difficult to accept. But I won't have to worry about it much longer."

She arched a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Jack and I are going to discuss options with Terry and see the best way to get rid of it—"

"You're having an abortion?"

That was essentially what he was having, but Ianto was still startled to hear the word. Ianto has been a long supporter of women rights when it came to abortions, but he didn't quite agree with the actual process of abortion. In his eyes, it seemed unfair and quite selfish to abort a baby without giving it a chance to live, but here he was, anxious to abort the embryo growing inside of him.

"I wouldn't exactly call it that, but yes." There was, thankfully, no judgment in Gwen's expression, just surprise. "I can't possibly carry a baby, Gwen. I don't have the proper body equipment and Jack had inferred risks to both me and the foetus if I even thought about carrying it."

"I understand, but are you really sure that aborting your baby is the proper thing to do?" She reached out and rubbed his arm. "I don't want you to do something you might regret."

In much the same way Ianto was startled to hear the word abortion, he was startled to hear "your baby." Ianto hadn't made any connection with the sac. He considered it something that didn't belong in his body, something that needed to be removed and fast. Hearing Gwen refer to it as his baby reminded him that it wasn't a foreign species he was removing, it was his own child. It may not belong in his body, but biologically, it was his.

He swallowed and firmed his stance. "I'm sure. It's the proper and logical thing to do."

She nodded. "All right. I'll stand by you, then."

He nodded and headed towards the medical bay, hearing clatter and mutters. At the last minute, he turned towards Jack's office. Terry wasn't going anywhere. The apology could wait.

Jack was reclining against his chair, booted feet crossed and planted at the edge of his desk. Ianto scowled, knowing that dirt and other nasty bits were falling on the desk. He swore that if it wasn't for his daily cleaning, Jack's desk would be nothing but dirt and rubbish.

Glancing over the opened folder in his hands, Jack ran his eyes over Ianto's body. "You okay?"

"Yes." Ianto placed his mug of coffee within reach. He spotted a take-away coffee cup from a nearby café. He sniffed at it. His standards for coffee were high and not many cafés met his approval. Certainly the one Jack went to didn't. He grabbed the cup to dispose of it in the bin by Jack's desk. "I feel relaxed now."

Jack lowered his feet. "Good."

"Does Terry know what we want to do?"

"I mentioned it, but I thought it best you and he talk about what method you want to go. He also wants to scan you again, have a better idea of where the sac is located so he'll know where to look for it." Jack placed the folder down. "Want me to go with you?"

Ianto thought about it, but eventually shook his head. "No, that's all right." He didn't need someone holding his hand through it. It was a simple conversation, nothing to fret about. Only when the actual termination occurred did he want Jack by his side. Besides, he really didn't want Jack there when he apologized to Terry for his behavior. It was embarrassing enough to do it alone. "I'll let you know what he says."

He moved towards the door, but Jack crooked his finger. "Where's my morning kiss?"

"It's almost noon. And you got your kiss when you left earlier."

"That was a peck." Jack stood and circled the table. Mindful of the tray still holding Terry's mug, Jack grasped Ianto's nape and held him still as he plundered his mouth. He tightened his hold on the tray to prevent it from falling. When Jack released him, Ianto knew his lips were swollen and his skin flushed with desire. "Now _that_ is a morning kiss."

Ianto licked his lips. "Should I be here for your afternoon kiss as well?"

Jack grinned. "I was actually thinking a little afternoon delight instead. Someone promised to be tied to the bed if I was good yesterday and if I recall correctly, not only was I very good, but someone else was very naughty."

The flirtation was something Ianto found comfort in. It could range from explicit to cheesy depending on their moods, but it was one of their normal routines. It grounded him. "I thought I was good last night."

"You were." Jack leered. "You were _very _good, but I was good yesterday, and I never got my reward."

"Well, I suppose I could tidy your bunker around two o'clock. I believe we won't have any issues with the rift during that time."

"Good." Jack winked and returned to his chair. "I'll be expecting my afternoon delight at two."

He left Jack's office with a smile.

When he reached the top of the stairs that led into the medical bay, he hesitated. Terry was fiddling with the singularity scalpel, just one of many alien devices that he inherited from Owen. Ianto remembered the last time it had been used, even if he hadn't been there to witness Rhys use the device to vaporize the egg Gwen carried. Owen had been all smiles that his idea worked, though.

Taking a deep breath, Ianto resolutely climbed down the stairs. The doctor spotted him and froze for a moment before he placed the device down and watched him with a wary eye. Ianto knew he deserved it and didn't blame the man one bit.

When he reached him he extended the tray so Terry could grab the mug. When he hesitated, Ianto said, "I promise it's safe to drink. I didn't do anything to it."

"No, no, I didn't think that at all."

Terry was a horrible liar. Not exactly a good quality to have in this business, but he would learn. He took the mug and after eyeing it for one long moment, he took a sip. A relieved expression appeared on his face.

"I wish to apologize for my awful behavior yesterday." Ianto tucked the tray under his arm. "It wasn't my intention to embarrass or insult you, and there was no need to lash out at you over my situation."

Terry nodded. "I accept your apology." He stared down at the mug. "I feel like I should apologize to you as well. I was unaware that you and Jack were a couple—"

"We're not."

Terry lifted his head, surprise on his face. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not sure what we are, honestly." Ianto shuffled his feet a little. "He doesn't like labels, you see. We're together but are not a couple. We're simply . . ." Ianto struggled for a way to clarify their relationship. Jack may not like labels, but Ianto certainly did. In his mind he referred to them as a couple. It made things easier. "Ianto and Jack," he finally said. "We're simply Ianto and Jack."

"Oh." Terry frowned, obviously trying to comprehend, but looking confused. "Still, I flirted with him outrageously. Propositioned him a couple of times right in front of you."

Ianto remembered those propositions. He had bitten his tongue when he saw the way Jack had considered them. "Everyone flirts with him and everyone propositions him. You had no way of knowing." When Terry still looked guilty, Ianto smiled. "It's quite all right, I promise." Suddenly wishing for the conversation to be over, Ianto changed the subject. "Jack said that you were informed of what we had decided to do about the pregnancy."

"Yep. I have a few ideas on how we can remove it, but I want to do another scan to see where the sac is located. It'll make it easier for me to find it during the removal process."

It sounded so cold, so clinical, but Ianto removed his suit jacket and waistcoat, untied his tie, and unbuttoned his shirt before taking it off. He folded all articles of clothing and placed it on an empty chair, removing his bracelet to throw on top of the tiny pile before sitting on the medical table. He adjusted himself until he was in a comfortable enough position to lie down.

Once Terry did the scan, Ianto was once more introduced to a clear image of his organs. The sac was still there. Ianto hadn't paid much attention to it yesterday, but without shock and denial clouding his vision, he studied the thing. The sac was nearly transparent, and what rested inside was nothing more than tiny splotches. Didn't look like anything.

"We may have a bit of a problem, mate." Terry was studying the screen, arms crossed and fingers of one hand tapping the elbow of the opposite arm. A frown was on his lips and his red brows were deeply furrowed.

"You won't be able to remove it?" Ianto felt a twinge of anxiety.

"I can, but when I do it depends on you." He pointed at the sac. "See where it is?" His index finger moved to an organ that didn't seem too far from the sac. "Not only is the sac small, it's too close to the stomach. If I use the scalpel thing or any other device to remove it, I might accidentally hit the stomach or even the small intestine if my aim is particularly off. Once the sac is bigger I'll have better aim, but that means we have to wait a few weeks. Maybe even a couple of months." He turned to Ianto. "Another option is surgery. I can put you under and remove the sac while you're unconscious, but that carries the typical surgical risks, especially if you don't want to do it in a hospital."

"So you're saying I can either get rid of it now and die, or carry it for a couple of more months and then get rid of it."

"It's not really that black-and-white, but I supposed if you want to look at it like that, yes."

Ianto rubbed at his eyes sockets with his palms before getting off the medical table, his thoughts a jumbled mess. He wasn't sure which would be the better deal. Surgery was daunting and the idea of being unconscious only for him to never wake up frightened him. It would be just his luck to die a pathetic and ordinary death such as that. But he wasn't sure if he could handle carrying the sac for another two months, waiting for it to get big enough for Terry to remove it.

"So do you know how you want to have it removed, or do you want time to think it over?"

As Ianto redressed, he thought about what Terry just said. He hadn't considered any of those possibilities, hadn't allowed himself to think any further than having the sac removed within the next few hours, maybe even within the next day. The surgery option would be faster, but he knew the risks that came with surgery. Infection, stress to the heart, possible death. Surgery also meant he would be out of commission for several days, depending on how well it went. The singularity scalpel would be easier, but did he really want to have the sac inside of him any longer?

"If I wait, will I have to deal with any difficulties?"

Terry pursed his lips in thought. "I think you'll be okay. The sac is small and it won't grow much in the next several weeks to cause any stress or damage to your organs."

Ianto wondered what Jack would say. He needed a second opinion for this, unsure if he wanted to prioritise speed over safety. "Let me think about it."

After assuring Terry that he would have a decision by the end of the day, Ianto left the medical bay and retreated into the Archives.

The Archives occupied a large section of the hub's underground. In his early days at Torchwood Three, he had been appalled at the disorganisation and complete lack of care for vital and sensitive information. There had been no way to know what alien technology was dangerous or what was useless, and the files had been thrown on top of each other, making it difficult to find any kind of data. Since then, Ianto has managed to bring some order into the area.

Ianto learned through blueprints that the Archives were originally ten large storage rooms before a researcher in the 1920s had decided to knock down the walls and create a space for files and alien tech to be stored. The project was carried on well into the 1950s by several Torchwood operatives, and during that time the Archives had been properly organized, according to the notes Ianto stumbled upon from previous Torchwood employees. It began to fall apart after that when Torchwood operatives started to feel more interested in fieldwork than in keeping the Archives organized, and by the time Jack took over, no one was hired to look over the Archives.

Not until Ianto came on board.

It was his place of Zen, the only place that was truly his in the hub. He still had hundreds of files to organize and dozens of alien artifacts to catalogue, but at least information and numerous alien tech was now easier to find. He had ordered several new filing cabinets, built a lot of shelves, and invested in a lot of folders to accommodate the growing number of files and artifacts that they acquired over the years, dividing the Archives into two large units, one that housed files and another that housed the artifacts. Everything was cross-referenced and color coded to make it easier for others to find files on aliens, weaponry, even space junk, and if the artifacts were housed in the hub, the files indicated where they could be located within the Archives.

He carefully bypassed boxes and stacks of folders to reach the unit that housed the artifacts. If the pregnancy was the result of alien or advanced technology that came through the rift, chances were that it was here. If he had accidentally turned a device on that made the conception possible, he wanted to find it and categorize it as something that needed to be handled with caution.

Terry said he was about a month along, so the first thing Ianto did was look into any artifacts that he had come into contact within the week prior to date of conception. If none of the artifacts were the culprit, he would expand his search.

Two hours later, Ianto was still at a loss of what caused his pregnancy. None of the artifacts seemed to have the ability to help a man get pregnant. There was a weapon from an extinct alien race, a toy for sea people, a language translator that enabled anyone who wore the earphones to understand three alien languages, and a ball that preserved memories.

With an exhausted sigh, he put the ball back in its drawer and shut it closed before sitting down on the stone cold floor. It really wasn't fair. Jack was the one that always joked about getting pregnant, so why in the hell was Ianto the one stuck with a human embryo growing inside of him?

"Ianto?"

He closed his eyes, hearing Jack's voice echo throughout the area. "Over here."

"Where?"

"By artifacts B to C."

He heard Jack's light footsteps. He wondered how someone boisterously loud with a heavy coat and heavy boots could have a light step. Maybe it was the cosmos trying to balance Jack out. He demanded attention with his very presence so to make up for giving him too much present power, the Fates decided to make his steps almost quiet.

"There you are." Jack leaned against one of the filing cabinets. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out why I'm pregnant." He let his head fall back against the shelf he was leaning on. "I looked through all the artifacts and none of them seem to have the ability to make me pregnant, but I did pull all the files on the things I touched during the time of conception for you to look through." He waved at a pile of folders by his feet before looking up at Jack.

Jack frowned at the pile. "Why?"

"To confirm that none of them made me pregnant." He peered at Jack. "What are you doing down here? Need something?"

"No, I need some_one_. Someone tall, dark, and handsome. Someone who promised me an afternoon delight."

Ianto was blank for a moment before he remembered the date he and Jack had planned. He glanced at his watch. It was past two. "Bugger, I forgot."

"I know."

Ianto thought about giving him a flirty grin and keeping their planned tryst, but he didn't have the energy. "Aren't you curious as to why I'm pregnant?"

"Of course. What do you think I've been doing these past few hours?"

"What you always do: nothing."

"Ouch. Harsh." Jack curiously opened a bin to inspect the artifact inside. "I decided to research all the aliens we came into contact with around the time of the conception, see if maybe one of them helped you get pregnant."

Ianto perked up. "And?"

"None of them fit the bill." Ianto's shoulders drooped. "There is the possibility that the time of conception occurred a lot later from the time of contact with an alien who made it possible, so I'm going to look further back."

He was really starting to resent how bloody calm Jack was. Here he was, trying to get a handle on his situation, and Jack was standing there looking like he didn't have a care in the world. Damn bastard.

"So what did Terry say?"

Ianto shrugged. "I could either have surgery and remove the sac now, or wait a couple of months so he could attempt to remove it without cutting me open." At Jack's confused expression, Ianto added, "Turns out the sac is too small to remove with any of the alien tech we have. He might accidentally take out a vital organ instead. Once the sac is bigger it will lessen the risk of that happening." His bottom was getting numb. As he climbed to his feet, he turned to Jack and waited for his opinion.

"You think you can handle a couple of more months of this?" He waved at Ianto's midsection. "I would rather not have you sliced open if we can help it."

"That's what I was thinking. I guess we'll wait." He planted his hands on his hips. "But what about my job? Not removing the sac now means the nausea isn't going anywhere and the chance of me having another dizzy spell is still high. I don't think I'll be much use if I'm busy throwing up in the gutter or watching the world spin around me when confronting an alien."

"Maybe Terry could give you something to help with that. Worst case scenario, we'll take you off fieldwork for a while, have you be backup here in the hub and take you only when necessary."

"You should probably hire someone." It wasn't a new idea. In fact, it was something Ianto had wanted to suggest for a while. Having Terry lightened the load, but not enough. His pregnancy, no matter how temporary, was the perfect excuse to bring it up.

"Probably." Jack extended his hand. "But we'll see what happens. Finding a doctor was easy. Finding someone as intelligent as Tosh with computers? Not so easy."

Ianto grabbed his hand and was reeled until he was tucked against Jack's chest. "You don't have to replace her. Just find someone who's superior with computers." He glanced down at the pile of folders. "Or someone who can help us figure out what unknown artifacts can do." Tosh had been good at that, figuring out what alien tech could do when no one else could. She probably would've managed to figure out what caused his pregnancy a lot sooner than he or Jack.

Jack sighed and smiled sadly, probably thinking along the same lines as he. "I know. But sometimes I don't want to replace her. It was hard hiring Terry to replace Owen, and I only did because I realized we needed a medic here."

"I miss them, too."

"Yeah."

Unable to bear the sadness, Ianto held Jack close.

It had been four months since their deaths and Ianto still found himself with a quip for Owen or a comment for Tosh, only to be disappointed and crushed once he realized they were no longer there. Ianto knew they died saving the world, but he found it unfair that the world would never know it. It would never know how many times Tosh and Owen had placed their lives on the line for them, how they laughed and cried, the sacrifices both made just so families and friends could continue living in ignorant bliss of the terror and evil that existed out there in the universe

The world will never know his baby, either.

The thought startled him, but he quickly closed the door on that route. The baby would never survive the pregnancy and if it did, Ianto might not. There was no reason to think of the possibilities.

* * *

><p>Terry thought it best to provide Ianto with some vitamins for the duration of the next two months. Ianto was noticeably more fatigue than usual and the vitamins would help him keep his energy levels up while providing him with the nutrients he needed that the sac seemed to take from his body. The nausea was still an issue, but the vitamins seemed to help prevent any further dizzy spells.<p>

He was given the okay to go out into the field, which didn't make him as happy as one would think. Although he liked feeling useful and physically being at Jack's side whenever he needed him, in all honesty Ianto hated the idea of fieldwork. He much preferred the quiet of the Archives where he could get lost in relics and facts. He was almost disappointed when Terry deemed him fit for fieldwork; so long as the nausea wasn't too bad, he could go on any missions he liked. Under different circumstances, if this pregnancy was something precious rather than a nuisance, Ianto probably wouldn't have been put out in the field, but since his pregnancy was an unwanted one, it didn't matter how much danger he put himself in. He really had nothing to protect.

At least that was how it was supposed to be.

Instead, Ianto found himself thinking of precautions he could take to make sure he walked away from missions without a single scratch. Of course that was what they all tried to do, but Ianto was even more cautious than ever. He shouldn't be. His pregnancy was more of a hindrance and if he was hurt, wouldn't that make things easier? A possible miscarriage that would solve all their problems. It was cruel, and perhaps a bit heartless, but Ianto would no longer have to worry about it.

Except that Ianto couldn't get it out of his head that a miscarriage meant losing the baby.

He knew what was happening. He knew he was starting to form an attachment. It was hard not to. Jack wasn't talking about his pregnancy because it was already decided that he would have it terminated, but it didn't mean that Ianto wasn't thinking about it. He thought about it every minute of every day. Ianto was reminded of what he was carrying every time he had to run to the toilet to throw up, or every time he collapsed onto his bed after a light mission that required very little physical activity. He was craving food, too. This wasn't the usual hunger he experienced from lack of meals, these was cravings for specific foods. And if he believed Terry's words, he was also experiencing mood swings. Ianto wasn't too sure he believed that.

So what if he yelled at Jack for eating _his_ pastry? It was bloody irritating to put his snack in the fridge only to find it gone when he wanted to eat it, and it wasn't the first time Jack helped himself to Ianto's food, either.

Two months into the pregnancy, Ianto caught himself looking into his full-length mirror, examining his nude body. He turned to the side and ran a hand over his belly. It was flat, not as toned as Ianto would have liked it to be, but thankfully not rolling over the sides of his trousers either. He wondered how it would look seven months from now, with a fully developed baby making his belly visibly round. No doubt he would get looks and questions if he didn't hide it properly.

Realizing where his thoughts were heading, he quickly turned away from the mirror and finished dressing. If there was one perk that Ianto could see from all this, it was that he didn't have to go into work any earlier than ten in the morning. Normally he would be at the hub at seven, but the fatigue and the late nights made it difficult to get up that early, and Jack finally seemed to realize that just because they were terminating the baby didn't mean that Ianto shouldn't take care of himself until it was officially removed.

Suit jacket on and tie neatly knotted, he grabbed his keys, phone, and wallet before heading out the door. Once he stepped outside of his building, he debated briefly if he should take his car or not. Glancing up at the sky and seeing it partially clear, he decided to walk. The hub was only ten minutes away, and watching the happy people pass him by always served as a reminder of what he was fighting for whenever he risked his life.

Half way to his work, the scent of freshly baked pastries caught his nose. He inhaled the rich aroma and paused in front of a bakery window, his mouth watering at the sight of sugary baked goods. He has always possessed a sweet tooth, but his pregnancy magnified it tenfold. He didn't even hesitate, pulling the door of the entrance open as a little bell announced his arrival. The shop was semi-crowded, with a few patrons enjoying their treats at the few tables inside the bakery. He quickly got into the queue, already deciding to take two separate boxes of pastries to the hub: one for his teammates to share and the other to keep for himself.

As he waited, something outside of the bakery's window caught his eye. He blinked at the little girl who seemed to be staring right at him. She had blonde pigtails, blue eyes, and a heavy layer of freckles that showered the bridge of her nose and cheeks. She looked familiar, and Ianto frowned as he tried to figure out why he seemed to recognize her.

"Queue is moving, mate."

Ianto glanced forward and quickly closed the widening gap between the woman in front of him and himself before looking out the window again. The little girl wasn't there.

Frowning, he faced forward. Where did he see her? He knew he had seen her somewhere before, he just couldn't pinpoint where.

The girl was still on his mind after he ordered his pastries and walked the rest of the way to the hub. Eventually he shook his head and decided to let it go. It would just have to be one of those things left as a mystery.

Once Ianto walked through the tourist office he quickly glanced around to decide if he should do some cleaning. The tourist office was being used less and less, with the closed sign quickly becoming a common fixture in front of the door. It didn't mean that the office should fall into disarray, though.

Making a quick note to return later and dust the area, he resumed his way into the hub.

Gwen was at her desk when he bypassed the cog wheel. She seemed to always be at her desk nowadays, fascinated by the growing reports of the six-legged dog-like aliens that seemed to be popping up in London. It wasn't really their problem unless U.N.I.T. decided to admit defeat and call Torchwood to take care of it (or the situation grew so big that Torchwood had no choice but to deal with it). Ianto had little doubt that Gwen would soon ask Jack for a few days off so she could go to London and find out if the reports were based on facts or speculations.

"Something smells absolutely divine!" Gwen pushed away from her desk and ambled to the tiny kitchenette where Ianto was. He placed the boxes of pastries on the tiny counter next to the coffee machine. "I'm famished. Only had time for a banana this morning." She made a face. "Rhys kept me up all night."

"Oh?" Ianto snickered, and when Gwen realized what she just said she lightly slapped his bicep.

"That's not what I meant." She reached for one of the pastry boxes. "He has a bit of a cold and was coughing every two minutes. Daft sod refused any medicine, said it would pass." Ianto lightly tapped her hand and opened up the other box, holding it out for her. "What's in there?" She nodded at the closed pastry box she had been aiming for while she grabbed a cinnamon scone from the selection Ianto offered her.

"Other pastries."

"And I'm not allowed to have one from there?" She took a bite from her scone.

A bit self-conscious, Ianto turned to his coffee machine and began to operate it. "Those are mine. My cravings," he explained.

Gwen snorted. "Not surprised the baby has a sweet tooth, considering your own love for chocolate and baked goods."

Ianto focused on the gleaming steel of the machine, changing filters and pouring coffee beans. While Jack avoided the topic, and Terry spoke of it from a clear perspective of a doctor, Gwen was the only one who brought up his pregnancy with casual ease, almost making it sound like it was natural for him to be pregnant.

"Am I doing the right thing?" He hadn't meant to ask, but it was a question he couldn't quite shake. He needed someone else's opinion, and Gwen was the best person to ask. Not only was she his friend, she was supposed to be the human point of view in all this, to consider the other side of the issue when Jack didn't. Her compassion wasn't as strong as it was when she first joined the team, but she still possessed a lot more compassion than either Jack or Ianto in most cases.

"What, making coffee?" Gwen nodded vigorously. "Of course! You've ruined me for any coffee houses around here."

"No, not that." He began to pull levers. "My decision to terminate the pregnancy. Am I doing the right thing?"

He glanced at Gwen. She was frowning at him. "Are you having doubts?"

"I keep thinking of how I'm not giving the baby a chance."

Gwen lowered her scone on a napkin. "If you were a pregnant woman I would urge you to change your mind, and a part of me does urge you to give the pregnancy a chance, but this isn't like me accidentally getting pregnant. This isn't like me and the Nostrovite egg. It's a baby in a male body, a male _human_ body. In _your_ body." Gwen swiped her fringe out of her eyes. "It doesn't belong there. We don't even know if it will survive."

Ianto hunched a little. She was right. Of course, she was right. But he couldn't stop thinking about the what ifs.

"Oh, Ianto." She circled the tiny counter that had separated them and cupped his cheeks so he would have no choice but to face her. "You know my opinion, you know Jack's, and you know Terry's, but ultimately this is your body. What do you think you should do?"

"Terminating it is the proper thing to do." It was the one phrase he forced himself to repeat every time he played with the idea of going through with the pregnancy.

"All right, let me say it this way. What do you _want_?"

He swallowed. "I don't know."

And that was the bloody problem.

* * *

><p>"Terry?"<p>

The man looked up from his autopsy of a dead alien that was made entirely of wood. Branches for fingers, a tree trunk for a torso, and leaves for hair. A gentle species, according to Jack, and this one had met an unfortunate end when a startled civilian decided to use an axe on it when he found it in his back garden. The man had been duly retconned and the alien brought back for autopsy. Terry was clearly fascinated with the plant species.

"May I have a word?"

Terry lifted the goggles he wore. "Sure."

Ianto carefully chose his words. "Hypothetically speaking, if a man was pregnant, how difficult would it be to monitor its progress? And what would happen when the man goes into labour?"

It was clear he took the doctor off-guard. Terry cocked his head, a curious frown on his lips. "Why? Know any other pregnant men?"

"It's a hypothetical question." Ianto smoothed down the front of his clothes. "With me being pregnant, I have a lot of questions."

"Well, I suppose monitoring the progress of a male pregnancy would be more difficult than a female pregnancy." Apparently realizing the conversation didn't require his full attention, he returned to the specimen on his table. "There's nothing protecting the foetus. Assuming all human male pregnancies involve a thin sac, the baby would be more apt to health risks. There isn't even an umbilical cord, so how is the foetus getting its nutrients? Then I have to make sure the added stress on the man's organs when the foetus grows doesn't result in something rupturing." The specimen's insides were exposed and Ianto saw glimpses of roots and flowers. Terry extracted what looked like a branch. "And if the man goes into labour, the only option would be a C-section. Cut the belly open and take the baby out since it can't be removed any other way. Assuming the baby survives, of course."

"What do you think are the baby's chances of surviving? And the man as well?"

"Can't be too certain, but I have slim hope that a baby would survive and if it did, I bet my money that the growing foetus would rupture something inside the man, especially once it begins to move. I fear an elbow or foot digging into an organ. That shrinks the chances of the man surviving the pregnancy. There's also the fact that the pregnancy might cause too much stress for the man's body to handle, particularly during labour, resulting in death."

Terry then froze. He lifted his head and stared at Ianto. "Bloody hell. You want to carry it."

"I said _hypothetical_—"

"I wasn't born yesterday. You're too curious." Terry stepped away from the table, his eyes wide. "Ianto, the risks of carrying this baby—"

"Are nothing more than assumptions. And I didn't say I wanted to carry it—"

"But you're thinking about it, aren't you?" Terry shook his head in disbelief when Ianto remained quiet. "The baby doesn't belong inside of you. You're biology doesn't allow it."

"Clearly something made the conception happen so who's to say that my biology wasn't changed just enough to carry the baby full term?" Ianto rubbed his forehead. "Besides, everything seems fine so far."

"Because what you have is about the size of a bean. When it gets bigger—"

"I haven't made any firm decision."

Terry scowled. "Does Jack know about this?"

Ianto dug his hands inside his pockets. "No. We haven't spoken much about the pregnancy at all."

"Then talk to him. I doubt he would agree with you. He should have a say—"

"Is that what you would tell a pregnant woman? Or is this because I'm a man?"

Terry stared before his shoulders slumped. "No," he said tiredly. "If you were a woman I would tell you it's your body and it's your choice, no one else's." He frowned slightly. "I only partly agree. I still think a father should have a say, but women's rights and all that." He took a deep breath. "I'm assuming you want me to keep quiet? Not discuss any of this with Jack?"

"He doesn't need to know."

Terry's look clearly said he doubted that, but he nodded his acquiescence.

Ianto turned to start heading out, but when he reached the stairs, one foot already on the first step, he grasped the railing and turned to look at the doctor. "Give me your personal opinion, not your medical one. Do you think I should attempt to carry it?"

Terry sighed. "It's hard for me to think personally about it when I know from a medical standpoint what could happen." He paused. "But personally speaking, I'd say it's your choice. I certainly cannot stop you."

Ianto nodded and began to walk up the steps. Terry's voice made him pause.

"Just to let you know, just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'll leave you without a doctor. If you do decide to carry the baby, I'll be there to monitor it to the best of my ability and try to ensure its survival—and yours."

Ianto tightened his grip on the rail. "Thank you," he said hoarsely, and left the medical bay.

* * *

><p>The fingers in his hair soothed Ianto as he watched the nightly news. Head on Jack's chest, he took comfort from the rhythmic beating of Jack's heart underneath his ear when only two hours ago this very same heart had stopped beating for nearly an hour.<p>

Logically, Ianto knew that Jack would come back to life. Jack always came back to life no matter how long it took, but that didn't erase the tiny fear that eventually one of those deaths would stick. Besides, Ianto hated it whenever Jack died. He looked so still, unnatural when one considered how energetic and kinetic Jack was when alive. Always bouncing around like a kid. Even when sacrificing himself to protect others (as he did earlier when he allowed a large bipedal fish to absorb his life energy while Ianto, Gwen, and Terry got into place to shoot it), Ianto still hated to see the light fade from his lover's eyes, especially when he knew how much Jack hated dying.

Jack shifted under him and Ianto lifted his weight onto his hands. He had been resting in between Jack's legs, most of his upper body on top of Jack's. "Do I need to move?"

"No." Jack clasped his shoulder and urged him to lie down once more. He grabbed one of Ianto's hands and began to play with his fingers, eventually moving down to fiddle with the leather bracelet Ianto rarely took off. "I just needed to move a little. Butt getting numb."

"Maybe I should get up, then."

"Stay where you are."

Ianto stayed where he was, although he snuggled a little bit closer. He liked this rare side of Jack, domesticated and homey, content to lie on the couch and watch the news. It was a little piece of Jack that belonged solely to Ianto. He kept it jealously close to his heart.

The news switched to a human interest story of grown women who had been switched at birth, and Ianto bit his lip to hold back a groan as the story made him do what Ianto was trying to avoid doing: think about his baby.

In less than a week he was supposed to report to the medical bay in the hub and have the singularity scalpel vaporize the embryo. He tried his best not to think about that or the pregnancy, wanting just one night where he could pretend that he was a normal bloke carrying nothing more than his sleepwear on his person. It was pretty easy not to think about it when he was with Jack because the only times Jack spoke about the pregnancy was whenever he brought up a possible culprit that might have made conception possible. He never spoke about the baby itself. Ianto was starting to wonder if Jack truly didn't want to discuss it or if he was holding back for Ianto's sake.

Research had brought very little insight into what caused it. There were a couple of artifacts they found that could have made the ability of conception possible, but both were eventually deemed useless because they needed a certain kind of energy to work, and that energy wasn't available on this planet or even this century. Those were the only two leads they had had and now they were officially at a dead end. Ianto was beginning to think they would never find out.

"Jack?" Jack hummed to indicate Ianto had his attention. "Have you really been pregnant once before?"

Jack stilled and tension seemed to fill his body. Ianto opened his mouth, ready to retract the question and apologize, but a hand settled on the top of his head. It made Ianto unable to lift it or turn it enough to look at Jack. Ianto suspected that was the purpose for the hand on his head when Jack began to talk.

"Yes, but the conception wasn't from a good roll in the hay. I gave this guy a blowjob in the back of an alien bar. Looked human enough. Two weeks later, I was told I was carrying an embryo. Turns out the guy I gave that blow job to literally had seeds in his semen and one of them sprouted inside of me."

Ianto frowned. "So the seeds sprout into embryos?"

"Exactly. Humans are the perfect hosts for spreading their species around." Jack gave a small chuckle. "What followed was five horrible months of constant bathroom breaks, revolting food combinations to satisfy my cravings, and sore feet."

"Five months?"

"Standard incubation time for that species' offspring, apparently. When it was time for the baby to come out, it was trying to rip its way out of me. Literally. It had these tiny sharp claws. Doctors barely managed to put me under in time so they could remove it."

Ianto mulled over the information. It was hard for him to believe all the wild stories Jack told the team, and he believed only about ten percent of them. The possibility that Jack had been pregnant had sounded ludicrous the first time the immortal had told his story, and Ianto had labelled that one as 'not true.' Now that he got the full story, Ianto carefully labelled it as 'might be true.'

"What happened to the baby?"

"Gave it away. I was younger back then, reckless. Didn't want a baby to spoil my fun."

And apparently he still didn't want a baby to spoil his fun. It was just one other con to add to the growing list of cons that went against going through with his own pregnancy. "And you never thought about it? Never wondered how it was doing?"

"Not really. I was its host, not its father."

"Why didn't you just abort it when you found out you were pregnant?"

"I think I was trying to piss off the Time Agency. A pregnant agent meant I was on paid leave. Getting paid for doing nothing." He chuckled again. "Made me laugh every time a superior had to cater to my whims whenever I waddled into work, though."

Well, that sounded like something Jack would do, some sort of backward logic that could only make sense in Jack's mind.

"So you never want children?" he asked hesitantly. He thought of Jack, the lone warrior with no one to go home to, no children to tell his outrageous stories to. Jack had him for now, but what about when Ianto was gone? Would Jack forever keep everyone at arm's length? "Or a family?"

There was a pregnant pause before Jack said, "Don't, Ianto."

"Don't what?"

"Don't start thinking of happily-ever-afters with us."

Hurt, Ianto pulled away from him. "That wasn't why I was asking."

He climbed to his feet and retreated into his kitchen, yanking open his freezer to take out his ice-cream. He grabbed a spoon and began to dig into it, back facing the living room while he struggled not to cry. It was humiliating how easily he wanted to burst into tears when there really wasn't anything to cry about (must be the hormonal imbalance Ianto had tried to deny having, despite the fact that it seemed to be the only reason why he wanted to spill his tears).

Ianto might occasionally daydream about having a happily-ever-after with Jack, but he wasn't stupid enough to think it would ever happen. Ianto would die before his thirtieth birthday and Jack would eventually find someone else to have in his life and in his bed. If anything, all they had was a happily-for-now, and even that was stretching the truth a little.

But it didn't mean he liked being reminded of what he could never have, and it hurt to have Jack throw it in his face like that.

Hands landed on his shoulders. Ianto ignored them, dipping another spoonful of ice-cream into his mouth.

"Sorry," Jack murmured behind him. A kiss was bestowed on the back of Ianto's head. "That may have been a bit crass."

"You think?" Ianto muttered around his spoon.

"It didn't come out the way I thought it would. You know a baby doesn't fit in with us."

Ianto dislodged Jack's hands and turned around to glare at him, finding comfort in his anger. Being angry was better than crying. "I know you don't want this baby, I know that it doesn't fit in with us, and I know you can't wait for me to get rid of it. I know it!" Ianto shouted.

"Ianto—"

He pointed his spoon at Jack. "Back off, Harkness. I'm pissed off as it is, and you trying to humour me or comfort me won't help."

Jack lifted his hands in the universal sign of surrender.

Ianto ate another spoonful of ice-cream before he took a deep breath to calm himself. "I was asking because I was curious. I wasn't even thinking about us. I was thinking more about what happens in the future, when I'm not around anymore."

Jack winced. "Don't think like that. And I'm sorry. I thought you asked because you started to think that we should keep the sac."

Ianto noted that he didn't deny Ianto's accusations of what Jack thought of the pregnancy. Ianto also made sure not to comment on Jack's last statement. "Well, you should be sorry." He cradled his ice-cream and continued eating it.

"Look, why don't we go to bed. You need your rest."

It was odd how much Jack wanted the baby terminated but was still considerate of Ianto's health. He shook his head. "I'm not sleepy."

Jack smiled wickedly. "We can make sure you become sleepy."

Still hurt, Ianto scowled. "Sex doesn't solve everything." He pushed past Jack and returned to the couch, plopping down and indulging in his dessert. He knew very well he was sulking and figured he deserved it. He also admitted that his hormones were probably exaggerating his sulkiness, but he didn't much care at the moment. Jack wasn't afraid to show when he was mad or depressed, so why couldn't Ianto indulge in that freedom for once?

Jack sat down next to him and fingered Ianto's thigh. "Come on, Ianto. Forgive me." Jack pouted. "You know you can't stay mad at me forever."

"Yes, I can." Ianto tried to turn his body away but Jack trapped him. Ianto held his carton higher, a flimsy barrier between him and Jack's charms.

"No, you can't." Jack nuzzled the junction between neck and shoulder. "I can be a really good boy for you. I'll do anything you want me to."

Ianto bit his lip when a hand lightly touched his crotch. "Stop it." His command didn't have the authority he wished it did.

Jack chuckled and took Ianto's ice-cream before sliding off the couch and getting in between Ianto's legs. "Don't think you want me to." He lowered the elastic of Ianto's sweatpants just enough to free his hardening cock.

"Jack—" He gasped when his cock was engulfed in molten heat. "Damn you."

Ten minutes later, Ianto was left sprawled on the couch, fighting for air while Jack licked the last of his spilled seed. "Damn you," he said again.

Jack gracefully stood up and leaned forward to plant his hands on the couch on either side of Ianto's head. He kissed him and Ianto didn't hesitate in responding. Any lingering anger vanished under the tenderness of Jack's kiss.

"I really am sorry," Jack said when he pulled back. He was perfectly serious.

Ianto nodded, accepting the apology. "I know we'll never be the happy couple who will grow old together, but it doesn't give you the right to belittle what we do have." _Especially not when I'm pregnant with your baby._ He held back the words.

Jack cupped his cheek. "That was never my intention. I don't belittle what we have."

Ianto accepted another kiss. "Okay," he whispered. "You're forgiven." When Jack grinned, he added, "But sex is off the table tonight. You want some relief, make a date with your hand."

He left the living room, his smile vindictive when he heard Jack's muttered curses.

* * *

><p>When the day arrived to terminate the pregnancy, Ianto had the urge to hide under the covers. He forced himself to get up, get showered, get dressed, and go to work. The appointment for termination was in the late evening, when the rift was supposed to be calm. No large spikes of rift activity were supposed to occur, which meant Ianto could have the foetus removed and he could go home to rest before coming into work the following day. Like nothing ever happened.<p>

Like he hadn't been carrying a baby inside of him.

When the appointed time arrived, Ianto was on the medical table, partially nude while Terry hovered above him. Gwen and Jack watched from the top of the medical bay as Terry made one last scan of Ianto's body.

"I've been practicing," he said. "Put a grape inside a box to see if I can vaporize it, and I've managed to do so without any mishaps the last ten times I used the singularity scalpel."

"Grape?" Gwen questioned.

"That's how big the foetus is now." Terry studied the monitor and nodded. "Perfect. Looks like the foetus moved a bit away from your stomach."

"And you're sure you can do this?" Jack questioned.

Terry rolled his eyes. "Yes. You asked me that when you decided to terminate the pregnancy, you asked me that a month ago, and you asked me that yesterday. I know what I'm doing."

Ianto ignored the tiny argument that ensued, eyes glued to the monitor. It no longer looked like a mass of splotches. He could see a chin and a nose, tiny arms and legs. It looked more human now and Ianto itched to touch the monitor, to caress the shape of the foetus's head even though he couldn't physically touch it. Shit, that was a baby. That was _his_ _baby_.

And he was going to kill it.

All the confusion suddenly vanished as a sense of purpose filled him. He knew what the proper and logical thing to do was, but none of that mattered because he now knew what he _wanted_ to do.

"I can't do it."

The conversation dwindled into silence. Ianto turned to look at a stunned Terry. "I changed my mind, I'm not doing this."

He sat up and looked up at Jack, who stared at him with a blank expression. "I'm not killing my baby."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Jack turned away from the medical bay and walked to the centre of the main hub, looking up towards Myfanwy's nest when she screeched. He closed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips, trying to stay calm as a storm of fury brewed in his chest. It was difficult to accomplish.

For the past three months, from the moment he was told that his lover was pregnant, he knew termination of the sac was the best way to go. There were too many factors at play, too many possibilities that could happen. A baby didn't belong in Torchwood and that was proven time and time again over his long history at Torchwood Three. There had been only three Torchwood operatives who had attempted to combine Torchwood and parenthood, and two of them met with disastrous results. One had her baby kidnapped and she had spent the rest of her life trying to find her son. The other had died in the line of duty when an alien had managed to sneak into the hub while the rest of the team had been out. She had been six months pregnant. As for the third . . . Well, Jack didn't want to think about that one.

If that wasn't enough to convince him that the sac needed to be terminated, there was also the glaring fact that Ianto was a man. Pregnancies in men were risky, with a high percentage of miscarriages and deaths even during the fifty-first century when pregnant men were more common.

Jack had trusted Ianto to be pragmatic about the situation.

"You're mad."

Jack opened his eyes and lowered his head, but didn't turn around yet. "Logical deduction, Ianto Jones. Two months ago we agreed that termination was the best option for us. And now you tell me you want to keep the sac."

"It's not a sac anymore, Jack. It's a baby."

"Two weeks ago you asked me about a family. You said it had nothing to do with us. Was that a lie?"

"No." There was a pregnant pause. "Mostly not a lie. I was . . . struggling with the decision—"

"We had already decided!" Jack turned around to glare at Ianto. "We talked—"

"No, we didn't." Ianto lifted his chin. "We didn't talk at all. You told me to get rid of it and I agreed, and you never spoke about it again."

Jack stared. "You're making it sound like I was forcing you to terminate it."

"That's not my intention. I'm just saying that we never really talked about it. I was in shock, Jack, afraid because I had something in me that shouldn't have been there in the first place. You come to me with a solution, telling me it's the practical thing to do, and of course I'm going to agree with you because all I can think about is that there's a way for this thing to be taken out, but now I realize it isn't a thing. It's a baby. It's my baby. It's _our_ baby."

"Ianto, do you know what could happen to you?"

"Yes, of course I do. The baby could die. I could die. I know all the risks, I asked Terry."

Jack scowled at Terry, who was hovering with Gwen behind Ianto. The redhead looked away with a guilty expression.

"Jack." He looked at Ianto again. His lover exuded confidence, but his eyes were filled with desperation and a need for Jack to understand. "We go through hell and back every day to save lives. What's the point in all that if I don't allow this one single child a chance to live? What's the point of Torchwood and making sure aliens and humans get a chance at life if I go around and kill the life that's inside me?"

It was a feasible argument. After everything they've gone through, after evolving from cold-hearted agents to understanding human beings, for all intents and purposes he should give this child a chance, especially when the child was a part of Ianto, a part of himself. But he couldn't give in. He would give Ianto almost anything he wanted, but not this. A baby didn't belong in their world, and a pregnant man belonged even less.

Jack shook his head. "Ianto, I can't give you my approval or my support in this. Terminate the pregnancy."

Ianto tightened his lips, but he didn't back down. Jack knew that stubborn look, and he knew he wasn't going to like the next words that came out of Ianto's mouth.

"I'm not asking for your approval." He inhaled sharply. "And I would like your support, but if you can't give me that then I don't need it either."

They stared at each other for several seconds before Jack turned and stalked out of the hub.

He slammed the door open of the tourist centre, letting the cool air of the night settle his nerves. This couldn't be happening. Ianto couldn't possibly be thinking clearly.

The worst thing about all of this was that Jack had known—he had fucking _known_—that this could happen. Just because Ianto was a man didn't mean that he wouldn't form a sort of maternal bond. He supposed it would be more appropriate to label it as a paternal bond, but the sentiment was the same. He had seen the tiny hints that showed Ianto starting to waver in his decision to remove the sac: a gentle brush against his stomach, the switch from 'sac' to 'baby' whenever Ianto spoke about it. Ianto had grown attached, just like Jack had suspected, and he should've sat Ianto down and explain that the sac needed to be removed as soon as possible, but he had thought Ianto's twenty-first century ideas would override any sort of emotional sentiment he held for the sac.

He was half way across the Plass when he heard Gwen shout his name. He ignored it, not wanting to deal with her. He didn't want to deal with anyone. He wanted to find a nice roof away from the hub and brood about the new complication, because that was what it was: a complication. An unnecessary complication that they couldn't deal with now. Despite Terry joining the team, they were still broken, held together only by the cheapest of glues. They didn't need another potential death.

"Jack!"

Jack reluctantly stopped when Gwen grabbed his arm. She moved until she was in front of him, face flushed and breathing heavily. "You can't leave like that."

"I believe I can and just did."

"You know what I mean. Ianto needs you."

Jack snorted. "You heard him, Gwen. Doesn't need my approval, doesn't need my support. He's determined to go through with this all on his own."

"And whose fault is that?" She glared up at him.

He glared right back. "This isn't a simple matter. This is bigger than that."

"Would you be saying the same thing if I were pregnant?"

"It's different and you damn well know it." He jerked out of her hold and continued on his march, faintly annoyed when Gwen followed. "You're not pregnant, and even if you were you aren't a man. You aren't Ianto, so don't compare yourself to him."

"I'm not comparing myself to him. I'm just saying, Ianto knows the risks and he's willing to take them."

"It's worse than that." Jack stopped and looked at Gwen. "The baby isn't going to survive. We don't have the technology that would ensure its survival. If it died, Ianto will break. He's barely holding himself together. There's also the fact that the chances of Ianto surviving the pregnancy is slim to none in this century. I don't want another death, okay? No matter what we do or how hard we try, this pregnancy isn't going to end well." He tossed his hands up in the air. "Why the fuck isn't anyone understanding that?"

Gwen closed her eyes for a moment before she reopened them. "I see your point. Losing Tosh and Owen was hard and it's too soon to lose anyone else. I get that, that's why I told Ianto that I didn't agree with his decision. I don't want to lose him either." Her eyes darkened with determination. "But Ianto made his choice, and it's my job, our job, to stand by him when he needs us most."

"I know." His anger simmered. "But I can't agree with him. I can't accept it and I can't support it."

"But Ianto can't do this by himself."

Jack looked away. He wasn't changing his stance on the situation. He didn't want anything to do with the baby, didn't want to get attached to something that could die—or something that could kill his lover.

Perhaps some of his morose thoughts appeared on his face because Gwen suddenly hugged him, her slim arms wrapping around him while her head rested on his shoulder. He took comfort from her hold, returning the hug. He inhaled her scent. This would have been so much easier if Gwen had been the one to get pregnant. A pregnant Gwen would have caused problems as well, but not like the problems that came with Ianto.

"Jack?"

Hearing Ianto's voice, he pulled back and looked around, but didn't see him. It took him a moment to realize that Ianto had spoken through the comm. He pressed his comm. "What?" He couldn't help the snap in his word.

There was a pause before Ianto carefully replied, "There's rift activity across the city."

Calm and professional. Despite their argument, despite their disagreement over the pregnancy, Jack could always depend on Ianto to put Torchwood first. Well, almost always.

Jack forced himself to be professional as well. Wasn't that one of the big conversations they had? To not let what they had together interfere with Torchwood matters and vice versa? "How big?" He was quite proud with how steady his voice came out.

"Nothing major, from the looks of it. Terry and I are going through the CCTV now to see what we got. Weevil, perhaps. I doubt we'll need more than two people to investigate."

When it involved Weevils, Jack usually took Ianto. They knew each other's signals by now, knew what to do to handle a Weevil, and knew how to resolve any Weevil situation as quickly and quietly as possible, which was almost always followed by a quick romp in the SUV or whatever car they took. But after today, he wasn't in the mood to have Ianto as a partner.

"I'll take Terry," he said abruptly. "He needs the fieldwork practice anyway."

There was another pause. "Of course, sir."

_Sir_. Ianto was distancing himself now. He always called Jack "sir" with that stiff tone of voice whenever Ianto wanted distance between them, similar to the way Jack called Ianto "Mr. Jones" with that same tone of stiffness. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe they needed distance. Ianto clearly made his choice about the pregnancy. It was Jack's turn to figure out what to do, how much he wanted to get involved.

If he wanted to get involved at all.

"Tell Terry to meet me at the SUV."

"Already did, sir."

The comm clicked off and Jack smiled at a concerned Gwen. She wasn't ignorant. She knew that Weevil capturing was solely a Jack-and-Ianto thing. She may fancy Jack, and he may fancy her in return, but she wasn't blind to the relationship between Jack and Ianto and what that relationship entailed.

He could feel the strain in his lips. "Looks like its Weevil time. I'll see you later."

"What about—?"

"I need time to think about things, Gwen." He walked back across the Plass, making his way to the underground parking lot where the SUV sat. "By the way," he called over his shoulder, "let Ianto know that he could go on home. I don't want to see him for the rest of the night."

In fact, Jack really didn't want to see Ianto for quite a long while.

* * *

><p>Ianto returned home and slipped off his shoes, still smarting by the blatant dismissal via Gwen. Jack was a coward. The decent thing he could have done was tell him to go home to his face.<p>

For a moment, he stood in the middle of his living room, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to clean, he wasn't hungry, and he wasn't in the mood to watch TV. He thought about doing some work, but quickly banished the thought. He didn't have any files with him from Torchwood, and in all honesty, Ianto didn't want anything to do with Torchwood at the moment. Torchwood was intertwined with Jack, and Ianto really didn't want to think about Jack and his reaction to Ianto's decision to keep the baby.

Ianto had been prepared for a less-than-pleasant reaction from Jack, but it hadn't hurt any less to see the man walk out on him. He wondered if this was the end of their relationship, and Ianto laughed at the irony. How many women had experienced this same feeling of abandonment by a lover because they carried a baby? Ianto had never thought he'd be in this kind of position, left alone because he refused to terminate his pregnancy. Oh, both Gwen and Terry would be there to help him, but neither one was Jack.

"It's okay," he announced to the empty flat. "I can do this."

He hadn't lied when he had said he didn't need Jack's support. He was fully prepared to do this on his own. He had survived the downfall of Torchwood London, the death of Lisa, cannibals, John Hart's bombs, and a Dalek. If he had to go through the pregnancy on his own, no matter if the baby died or if he died himself, he would do it. He needed to give this baby a chance to live. It may not belong inside of him, but it was still a human baby that was a part of him.

"We'll be just fine." Ianto patted his belly. He still wasn't completely comfortable with the idea of a baby growing inside of him, but he was at peace with his decision. "We'll be just fine."

* * *

><p>When a mug of coffee was placed on his desk, Jack expected to see Ianto. He was surprised when he saw Terry instead.<p>

"Not as good as Ianto's, but decent enough." Terry smiled.

Jack smiled in return. "Thanks." He took the mug and tasted the brew. Terry was right, it wasn't as good as Ianto's, but no one's coffee would ever taste as good as his lover's. Ianto saw coffee as an art to be appreciated and carefully created, not something to be ruined with burned coffee beans or unnecessary additions that many coffee shops loved to include in their coffees. Terry's attempt was a lot better than Jack's or Gwen's, though. It would do for now.

"Ianto phoned, said not to expect him for a few days."

Jack wasn't surprised. "Staying away from me, right?"

"He didn't mention a reason, but he figured you would give him the time."

Yes, he would. Ianto knew Jack better than anyone else. Distance was what Jack needed—what they both needed.

"For what it's worth, I did try to persuade him to change his mind about the baby."

"I know." Jack leaned back in his chair and took another sip of his coffee. "Is Gwen still here?"

"Went out for some lunch."

Gwen was still disappointed in him for his knee-jerk reaction to Ianto's decision. She took every chance she got to remind him that Ianto needed all their support right now and that Jack should be there for him. God, when that woman got an idea in her head she never let it go until she got her way or learned her lesson, but Jack liked that about her. She was determined, driven to strive because of her compassionate nature. She kept him on some pedestal and Jack liked being perched up there, and that was why he hated disappointing her.

"Do you think I'm a bastard?" At Terry's confused expression Jack explained, "For disagreeing with Ianto about the sac, for my reaction. Am I a bastard?"

"I wouldn't say a bastard." Terry rocked on his heels. "Cautious, I would say. I won't deny that you act like a bit of jerk, though."

Jack smirked. "No longer blinded by hero worship, huh?"

Terry grinned. "Nope. Not since I found out you and Ianto are together." He lost his smile. "Or should I say _were_ together?"

"I have no idea anymore." Jack placed the mug back down. "In my time—the fifty-first century—men can have babies, but if there is one thing that hasn't changed, it's that a human man cannot naturally conceive with another human man. Someone who has alien DNA, maybe, and if they use advanced technology, they can definitely get pregnant. But the risks remain high. That's why most male same-sex couples opted for the safer albeit more expensive method of sending their sperm to an incubating factory."

Terry wrinkled his nose. "Incubating factory?"

"Using artificial eggs and the couple's combined sperm to make a baby that biologically belongs to both men."

"Sounds kind of clinical."

"It is. Parents can see their babies through incubators and, for an extra fee, they can make what people today call designer babies." When Terry made a face that spoke of disapproval, Jack shrugged. He didn't see anything wrong with parents wanting perfect children. "But like you, some couples thought that it was too clinical. Those are the ones who opted for male pregnancy."

Jack paused, remembering the few men in his colony who tried to make a family, leaving the villages by the sea to venture into the cities inland to get the proper technology that would give them the family they craved with their husbands. "But it was hard. Artificial wombs can fall apart and cause miscarriages, or labour can occur too prematurely. By the time a doctor arrives, both baby and father are already dead, the doctor too late to prevent any of it from happening. So many things can go wrong." He took another sip of the coffee. "If things can go wrong in the fifty-first century with all the advanced technology available, then it's inevitable that something will go wrong with Ianto's pregnancy."

"You're scared." Terry sounded surprised.

"My lover can die. Of course I'm scared."

"No, I know that. It's just that . . ." He trailed off. Jack gave him a curious arched eyebrow, silently telling him to continue. Terry waved his hand. "The way you reacted—one would think that your main reason for not wanting the baby is precisely that. You don't want it. At least, that's what it sounds like."

"I don't give a damn about the baby." Jack's blunt honesty made the doctor wince. "All I care about is Ianto." He took stock of what Terry said, remembering his exchange with Ianto, and sighed. "But I can see your point."

They were quiet for several minutes while Jack considered the circumstances. He didn't want the baby, that was a given, but it wasn't because of selfish reasons. He had done his best to not get attached because he didn't want to see it as anything more than a parasite that could kill Ianto. It was easier to think that way when all these negative and fatal possibilities floated around in his head. If the baby survived but killed Ianto, Jack wasn't sure he could feel anything more than loathing. The baby would serve as a reminder of what Jack lost. If Ianto survived but the baby did not, Jack knew it would shatter his lover. Ianto was stoic, true, but he was fragile and there were cracks in his armour. A miscarriage or a stillbirth could shatter him completely and Jack didn't want to see the progress they've made be for nothing.

Ianto's decision gave Jack a new purpose to find the culprit behind the conception, but it was driving him mad that he couldn't figure out how Ianto got pregnant in the first place. If it was an alien's doing, Jack would gladly squeeze its long-short-fat-thin-if-it-even-had-one neck! If it was alien tech, Jack would take great joy in crushing it under his foot. It wouldn't solve the issue, but at least the source of the issue would be taken care of and would do much to soothe Jack's anger.

Terry sat on one of the chairs in front of Jack's desk. "You know, when I learned that you and Ianto were shagging, I thought you and Ianto were a committed couple. Then he tells me you aren't even a couple, just two people who shag and go out. Friends with benefits type of a thing. Now I'm starting to think it's a little more serious than that."

Jack smiled. "I don't do labels."

"And you flirt like hell." Terry crossed his arms, looking slightly peeved. "You know you were leading me on, right? When I was flirting with you?"

"I tend to do that." Jack felt no guilt, either. It was just who he was. "But I would have never crossed that line with you. I'm not the monogamous sort of guy, but I can be monogamous when the occasion calls for it. With my long life, I can spare a few decades committed to one person."

"And Ianto is an occasion that calls for it?"

"Most definitely." Jack's smile widened. "He pretends he doesn't care, but I see the bursts of jealousy he gets now and again."

"Which explains why you turned down my propositions."

"Sorry, Doc. You're not worth losing Ianto over." And Jack would have lost him in some kind of fashion.

Even if Ianto chose to forgive his indiscretion and forget about it, Jack knew that his infidelity, despite the lack of any kind of commitment, would've hurt Ianto to the point where the young man would've withdrawn into himself so he wouldn't get hurt again. Jack would've lost a huge part of Ianto, never to regain it again, and he came to appreciate every single piece that Ianto gave him.

Terry didn't seem offended by the blunt words. "And your fear that Ianto could die," he said, "is that worth losing him?"

Jack rubbed at his chin. The question was a tricky one to answer. Jack was scared to be with Ianto just as much as he was scared of losing him.

It had taken him great courage to even ask Ianto out, knowing that dating Ianto would take their relationship to a whole different level. He didn't regret doing so, but on occasion he kicked himself for getting deeply involved with a man who would eventually die. It was going to hurt losing him, and sometimes he told himself that he should end what they have, to give Ianto a chance at a normal life outside of Torchwood, but what held him back was how much he didn't want to lose the relationship he had with him. They needed each other in some way and Jack was selfish. He didn't want to lose that.

"Look, just don't let your anger and your fears rule your choices over Ianto and the baby." Terry stood up. "If I'm not worth losing Ianto over, then the other things are worth it even less."

Terry walked out, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.

* * *

><p>When Ianto realized that his trousers were a bit more snug than usual, he knew it was time to do a bit of shopping. After buying three new pairs of trousers and four new sets of shirts, he made his way back home, making just one stop to buy fish and chips. He was almost home when a mop of blond hair caught his eye in the middle of the street.<p>

He froze.

It was the little girl he had spied at the bakery window a couple of weeks ago, the exact same one. She was peeking around the corner of a building, not exactly trying to be seen, but not exactly hiding either, because she didn't move once his eyes landed on her. He was almost sure that she was looking at him, but there were people walking up and down the street. She might be looking at someone else. He glanced around, making sure there was no other person standing in the middle of the street and looking in the little girl's direction. Nope, there was no one else.

He turned back, but the little girl was no longer peeking. Frowning, he closed the distance between himself and the street corner, but she wasn't there when he turned the corner. He looked up the street, across the street, even inside the building to see if she was close by, but she was nowhere to be seen.

If Ianto was an ordinary bloke, he would have put it down as coincidence. A very strange and unusual coincidence, certainly, but it was human nature to find explanations for even the strangest of occurrences. How else could the earth's population still deny the existence of aliens despite all the events that take place around here?

But Ianto wasn't an ordinary bloke, he was a well-trained Torchwood agent who made contact with aliens on an almost daily basis, and who currently had a human foetus growing inside of him. Seeing the girl twice in a short span of time and seeing her eyes locked on him told him that she was following him.

As he continued home, he kept a watchful eye out for her. She looked like a child, but Ianto had encountered aliens in the shape of children quite a few times for him not to be on guard. Looking innocent didn't necessarily mean that they actually were innocent.

It was driving him crazy that he couldn't figure out where he first saw her. She looked familiar, but it was that sense of familiarity that remained elusive. He didn't think he actually knew her, he just knew her face. Perhaps he saw her in passing beforehand, a face that he noted but paid little attention to.

His thoughts occupied him for the rest of the trip home, but any lingering thoughts of the girl vanished when he entered his flat and saw Jack standing in front of the large windows on the other side of the living room. Jack's back was to him, but no one could mistake the owner of that RAF coat for anyone other than Jack Harkness.

He faltered in the doorway as Jack turned to face him. They stared at each other for several seconds. Jack's face was closed-off, revealing nothing. Ianto found himself shuffling his feet a little and forced himself to remain still.

"Aren't you going to enter your own home?"

Jack's words were void of any emotion, but it was enough to make Ianto's feet move. He placed his shopping bags on the ground and turned to close the door, using his momentary respite to take a breath and relax. The tension in his body made it difficult to do so. He carefully removed his shoes, and was faintly surprised to find Jack's boots placed neatly by the door. That meant Jack planned to stay awhile.

Ianto left his shopping bags but did remember to grab the bag containing his fish and chips. He carried it into the kitchen, glancing at Jack to see the man had returned to looking out the windows. He placed the bag on the kitchen table, his craving dampened by tension and confusion over Jack's presence in his home. He couldn't even scrounge up a tad of annoyance over Jack taking liberties with the key to his flat, considering that the last time they spoke to each other had been filled with anger.

He began to get agitated as the silence extended between them. He struggled for an appropriate ice-breaker, but his brain failed to deliver anything. When he could take no more, he finally blurted, "What are you doing here?"

Jack looked at him. "I did a lot of thinking." He approached the counter and placed his hands on top. "Is this what you truly want to do? Do you really want to follow through with the pregnancy?" Ianto swallowed and nodded slowly. Jack stared at him with such intensity that Ianto struggled to keep eye contact. "And you know all the risks? You understand that the pregnancy might never produce a living child? You understand that you might die?"

Again, Ianto nodded. "I understand the risks. I'm willing to take them." Ianto was no stranger to taking risks. He risked his life every day, and the pregnancy was one more risk he was glad to take.

Jack stared at him for an extra moment before giving him one short nod. "I don't want this baby. I'm not going to lie and I'm not going to sugarcoat it."

It wasn't a surprise, but it didn't keep away the hurt. "You made that perfectly clear the other day, Jack." He lifted his chin and stiffened his spine. "Is it because you don't want children in general or because you don't want any children with me?" He braced himself for the answer.

"I don't want this baby because it can kill you. It's as simple as that."

Oh. Well, that certainly took some of the sting out of Jack's rejection. He had thought Jack simply hadn't wanted any child with Ianto. A baby was one sure way of creating a bond between parents, a permanent connection. He had figured that was what Jack had been rebelling against, having something that will keep him tied to Ianto. It was reassuring to learn that it wasn't that at all.

"I have to try," Ianto said. "If it wasn't human I would've terminated it as soon as possible. I don't think I would've had any desire to have an alien growing inside of me. But it's human, Jack. I lost so much—_we've_ lost so much. It seems like every time we save one life, ten more have to die." He huffed and shrugged. "I don't want to add to that death tally."

Jack bowed his head and heaved a heavy sigh. "Fine." He looked up. "Fine, have your baby. I'm not going to stop you." He crossed his arms on the countertop. "But I'm not going to let you go through this alone." Before Ianto's hopes could rise, they were quickly crushed with Jack's next words. "I want nothing to do with the baby. Don't talk to me about anything related to it. Gender, growth, health, scans, all of that I want no part of." Jack reached out to grasp the hand Ianto had placed on the counter. "But I don't want us to end, Ianto. I'm not letting the baby do that to us after all we went through to reach this point."

Ianto wasn't sure how Jack was supposed to be there for a pregnant man but not want anything to do with the baby. He knew that his life from here on out was mostly going to revolve around the baby, to ensure it makes it as close to its due date as possible. Right now he wasn't showing, but soon he would grow bigger, and that would be a physical reminder of what he was carrying. How was Jack going to support him about something he wanted nothing to do with? He didn't need financial support and he didn't need physical support. What he needed was emotional support, and that was the one thing Jack was going to deny him.

"And what happens when it's born?" he asked quietly.

Jack didn't answer. It took a long moment for Ianto to realize he already had his answer. Jack didn't think the baby would survive the pregnancy. He had no hope whatsoever. It was disconcerting because Ianto was struggling to not let pessimistic thoughts rule his head about the baby. Jack's lack of faith wasn't going to help.

"Let's deal with that if it happens," Jack eventually said.

_If_. Ianto noted the word of choice.

He nibbled on his lower lip, struggling on what to do. He wasn't strong, Ianto knew that for certain. Torchwood was his life, Jack was his life, and Ianto was loath to lose either one. To force Jack to accept something he obviously refused to deal with might bring about consequences Ianto didn't want to think about. Jack might decide to break off their relationship after all or maybe send Ianto away—Torchwood Two would probably be the only other place where a pregnant man could take refuge—and if the baby didn't survive, he didn't want to go through that alone.

And maybe, just maybe, Jack's curiosity would get the best of him. He might want to learn more about the baby, especially if it defied all expectations and survived.

"Ianto?" Jack circled the counter and entered the kitchen, approaching him. He ran a hand down Ianto's face. "This is all I can give you."

Ianto's breath hitched. "I don't want us to end either."

He didn't resist when Jack gathered him against his chest. He closed his eyes and simply breathed in Jack's scent. It was pathetic how easily Ianto gave in when Jack was concerned, but he hoped it would be worth it in the end. All he had was hope.

* * *

><p>It wasn't as difficult as Ianto thought it would be to stay with Jack and avoid the subject of male pregnancies. Sitting across Jack in the noisy restaurant, it was as if nothing had changed between them. It was like every other date they'd had, using the quietness from the rift to get away and spend time together.<p>

Their earlier attempts at dating—after Jack returned from his first trip with the Doctor—had been awkward, with conversations stilted as they danced around each other. It wasn't until they shagged in the SUV after their fourth date that the awkwardness had vanished. Ianto should've known that having sex with Jack was really the only way to truly break the ice. The ease and naturalness they felt when shagging seemed to transfer to their conversations outside of bed, and only then had their dates become much more pleasant.

Their initial attempts to move forward after Jack's rejection of the baby were just as awkward as their first dates. Jack tried too hard to make conversation that had absolutely nothing to do with babies, and Ianto kept mostly silent in his horrible attempt to not let anything related to the baby slip. Once again, sex in the SUV was enough to let them know that they didn't have to try so hard to avoid the topic of babies.

Ianto hummed at the chocolate cake he had chosen for dessert. He has always had a weakness for chocolate (one of the things he shared with Myfanwy) but his cravings for chocolate were stronger now that he was pregnant. Gwen was right. His baby would probably be born with a sweet tooth, but he did his best to be careful. No need to add on any extra weight.

Jack's chuckle caught his attention, and Ianto glanced up to find the man watching him with a half-smile. "I've never seen you look so happy over a piece of cake."

Ianto pulled back and smiled a little self-consciously. "I have a bit more of a, um, craving for it. Chocolate, I mean. Makes me happy."

"Ah. Cravings."

And there it was, the tension that filled in the moments of silence when one or both mentioned something related to Ianto's pregnancy. Ianto hated those moments.

The waiter approached their table and left them the bill. Ianto reached into his wallet to pay for his half of the meal—a compromise they had reached when they first started dating after many arguments over who should pay the bill—but Jack said, "I'll pay for it."

"But Jack—"

"Ianto, I'm paying for it." Jack took out some cash and placed it on the table.

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do." Jack looked so serious that Ianto couldn't do anything except nod.

They put on their coats and left the restaurant. Ianto buttoned his coat and put on his gloves to protect his skin from the windy cold as they walked towards Ianto's car parked down the street.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?" Jack looked quite comfortable beside him. Of course, the man had a heavy wool coat that provided him warmth. Ianto had had the privilege to wear it a time or two, and during one of their missions Jack had held Ianto close with the coat wrapped around them both when they had been trapped in a freezing storage facility.

"Did you ever have other children?"

Jack glanced at him before looking up at the sky. It was dark, but the stars were bright. "You asked me that before."

"No, I asked if you had ever been pregnant. I want to know if you had human children before. I know you were married once."

Jack was quiet for so long Ianto thought he wouldn't answer. "Two children," Jack finally admitted. "Both born during the twentieth century, but by two different mothers."

Ianto hesitated before asking, "What happened to them?"

"Never got to see either one grow up."

How awful. It must have hurt to have two children but never see them grow up. "Sorry."

Jack shook his head as though it didn't matter, but his closed-off expression told Ianto otherwise. He regretted asking and held back any further inquiries. No need to bring up painful memories for Jack for the sake of his own curiosity, but it made him wonder if that was another reason why Jack didn't want the baby. He said that he feared losing Ianto, but what if there was more to it?

The tension was stirring between them again. He struggled for something to say. "I have a niece and a nephew." Ianto rolled his eyes as soon as the words left his mouth. Out of all the things he could've chosen to talk about, he brought up two children he barely saw. Even Jack shot him a curious look. "They don't like me much," he added. Might as well stick with it.

Jack arched a brow. "Well now, how can anyone not like Ianto Jones? He makes fantastic coffee and looks pretty damn hot in a suit."

Ianto smiled. "Somehow, I don't think those qualifications matter to them." He shivered at a gust of wind. "I didn't spend much time with them so they pretty much ignore me whenever I visit my sister."

"When was the last time you visited your sister?"

"I don't know. Before the battle in Canary Wharf." Ianto drooped a little, realizing how awful it must sound for him to admit that he couldn't remember the last time he saw Rhiannon. "I couldn't tell her what I was doing so I made myself scarce when I started working there." He shrugged. "But I started distancing myself well before then. When my father passed away, I ran."

"How did your father die?"

"His liver shut down. There was no time to find a donor."

His father had found comfort from the bottle soon after Ianto's mother started exhibiting signs of schizophrenia. It grew worse when she had been institutionalized, and by the time she had died, his father was no longer the same man. Rhiannon had tried to be there for him, but she already had a family of her own. She had her own life and that gave him the incentive to find one of his own. Torchwood had certainly provided that, and there had been no need to include his sister in his life when there wasn't much he could say.

"Nothing left for me in Wales," he continued. "I wouldn't have come back if it wasn't for the Daleks and the Cybermen destroying Torchwood London."

Jack wrapped an arm around his shoulders and brushed a kiss across his temple. The Captain was always better with actions than he was with words. Ianto smiled at his form of comfort, the reassurance that Jack was there for him.

It was when they reached Ianto's car that he felt a prickling sensation in the back of his neck just as Jack's wristband began to beep.

"Rift activity," Jack muttered.

Ianto glanced over his shoulder and gripped at the wrist Jack lifted to check the coordinates of the activity. "And I know where it is."

It was tall, midnight black, and ugly. It stood on two hind legs and had two sets of arms, with one set having two large claw-like hands that nearly touched the ground while the other set was more human-sized. Its torso was skeletal, its bones distinct and easily seen through the thin skin that covered it, and its head was elongated, the jaw and mouth with sharp teeth sticking out further than its forehead. It had small pointy ears, and its eyes were glowing red. If that wasn't enough, it also had wings that were currently stretched out. The wingspan had to be at least ten feet.

"What is that?" Ianto asked as he carefully removed his gun from his holster. Jack had already grabbed his Webley and was aiming at it.

"A Wendigo."

Ianto's brows shot up even as he kept his eyes on the thing. "A what?"

"Technically the name is a bit more complicated, but the closest humans can get to pronouncing it is Wendigo. It's a bad alien who likes to feast on human flesh. The Native Americans have a myth revolving around the Wendigo, and it's one of the few myths in existence that is pretty close to accurate to the real thing in both description and actions."

It screeched, making Ianto wince as his ears suffered under the sharp sound. He resisted the urge to cover his ears. Glass shattered from nearby buildings and Ianto could hear a few people screaming. A large purple tongue slipped out of the creature's mouth and curled in the air, its eyes pinned right on them.

"Ianto, get to the car."

He shot Jack a confused look. "Why?"

"It's using its tongue to scent the air for food. We're the closest to it."

"I can't leave you alone." He took a step back when the Wendigo moved forward, tongue still out. "It'll kill you."

"I come back."

Ianto wasn't sure how Jack planned to come back if he became completely devoured. "But Jack—"

"Ianto, I'll come back. I always come back. You don't." Jack paused. "And you have a certain passenger you fought to look after."

Ianto swallowed at the quiet reminder of what he carried inside of him. He was torn between standing at Jack's side to fight and running to ensure that he didn't get himself killed so the baby could continue to grow. After the stand he made to follow through with the pregnancy, it would be foolish of him to risk his life for a man who couldn't stay dead.

Still, he hesitated. He was a fighter, not a coward. And leaving Jack alone to deal with the Wendigo by himself seemed like a cowardly move despite Jack's insistence that he run to the safety of the car.

After one quick glance at Jack, he made a decision and turned to run to his car. The Wendigo screeched again and Ianto flinched as he heard the unmistakable flapping of wings and the sound of Jack's gun firing. He struggled to get his keys out of his pocket even as he held onto his gun as he ran. Just as he reached the car, he heard Jack snarl, "Oh, no you don't," and Ianto was suddenly on the ground with a heavy weight on top of him as a sharp gust of air hit his face, the alien's screech disturbingly close. He lost his grip on his keys and his gun as Jack covered him.

Jack climbed to his feet and helped Ianto stand, keeping him close to his side. "Get in the car, hurry! Bullets are just pissing it off."

Ianto frantically glanced around for his car keys. "I need to find my keys." He looked up and found the creature hovering above them. Other people had walked out into the streets to see what was going on, but the Wendigo seemed fully focused on them, circling in much the same way a vulture circled the remains of dead animal. A glint of metal on the pavement revealed his keys' location, but it was several feet away.

"I'll open it." Jack lifted his wrist to tap his Vortex Manipulator, but the Wendigo chose that moment to swoop down. Jack pushed Ianto down while Jack fired his Webley as he put distance between himself and Ianto. The Wendigo screeched again, now fully focused on Jack. "That's right, you mother fucker! Come get me. I've been told I taste pretty damn good, and I'm inclined to believe them. If I look good, I taste good."

Only Jack would shout something so egotistical to an alien that wanted to eat him.

His actions did leave Ianto free to crawl to his keys. He swept his eyes across the grey cement to see if his gun was close by, but when his eyes found his gun it was already in the shaky hands of a man who was pointing the gun towards the alien. "Don't—"

The gun fired and Ianto scrambled up to his feet to take his gun back. The man was a scared bystander, thinking he was doing the right thing, but Ianto couldn't help inwardly cursing the stupidity of some people. The Wendigo was screeching again, but through the screeching he heard Jack shouting his name.

Ianto spun around to see the alien flying right at him, its jaws opened and claws extended. People were screaming all around him, but he didn't have time to duck or jump out of the way, it was too close. There was no time to do anything except stand there and watch what was going to be his executioner. He instinctively brought his arms up to cover his head, waiting to be killed.

Except that it burst into dust just as it reached him. He coughed from the particles that now covered him as he lowered his arms. He looked down at himself. His suit was barely recognizable under the debris. What the hell?

He looked up and his eyes widened. She was there, the little girl with the blonde pigtails standing right in front of him. This time there was no denying who she was looking at, her eyes glowing gold as she stared right at him.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

He didn't look at Jack when the man reached them, though he could see his lover out of the corner of his eyes. Jack frowned down at her, pointing his gun in her direction as he slowly circled her until he was at Ianto's side. The girl never even glanced in Jack's direction. She simply smiled and vanished.

* * *

><p>"Anything?"<p>

Gwen shook her head. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I need more than age ten, blonde pigtails, and gold eyes."

Ianto brought a thumb up to chew on his nail. "She's been following me. That was the third time I saw her. Trouble is that I'm sure I saw her before any of those times. She looks familiar."

Jack came out of the office. "The police are taking care of the street where the Wendigo appeared." He looked at Gwen. "Your friend Andy is leading the clean-up team and has already passed around rumors that it was all a hoax for an upcoming movie." Jack's eyes cut to him. He grinned slowly. "Looking good."

Ianto rolled his eyes. The clothes he wore for his date would have to be taken to the cleaners, so he had decided to dress in casual wear of jeans and shirt instead of slipping into another suit. It would've been pointless this late in the evening to put on a suit. "Not now, Jack."

"So what was the girl doing there?" Terry asked as he stood behind Gwen's chair.

"Well, we know for sure that she killed the Wendigo." Jack crossed his arms, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "The little girl materialized just in the nick of time, too. The Wendigo was only about a foot away from Ianto before it exploded." He looked at Ianto. "I think she was trying to protect you."

Ianto suspected that as well, but why? He could only figure that she wanted him alive, but for what? He wouldn't be feeling so suspicious towards his savior if she hadn't vanished without explaining herself. Besides, in his line of work, more often than not would-be saviors that weren't a part of the team usually had some sort of agenda behind their actions.

"Well, until I get more information we're at a dead end." Gwen stretched her arms over her head. "I mean, who knows if that's even how she looks."

"True. For all we know she's wearing a skin suit." Jack rubbed his jaw. "But I don't like this."

"How do you think I feel?" Ianto grumbled. "I have a stalker."

"Look, right now we don't even know if she's a threat." Terry looked at him. "She might be a guardian of sorts, couldn't she?"

"I'm pessimistic. I rather think that she's dangerous so I can be on-guard than hope that she's an angel only to get stabbed in the back."

"Is that what Torchwood does to you? Strip you of any optimism?"

Terry's question only showed how green he was. They've all felt optimism at one point only to be horribly let down. Even Gwen, with all her compassion and determination to see the good in everyone, never looked at any situation without wariness and caution.

"We're not saying you can't be optimistic." Gwen spun her chair around so she could look at Terry. "Actually, it's kind of good that you have that. But us three," she made a circular motion with her hand to encompass Ianto, Jack, and herself, "have gone through a lot of shit. We take every situation that seems good with a grain of salt."

Ianto met Jack's eyes briefly to see sorrow in his eyes that echoed the sorrow in Ianto's heart. Though the pain from Tosh's and Owen's deaths was muted now after several months, their absence had left a void that Ianto was sure would never be filled.

There was a moment of silence before Jack clapped his hands. "All right, kids. Let's call it a day. Ianto, I'm taking you home."

While Gwen and Terry cleared up their workstations, Ianto followed Jack to his office. He grabbed Jack's coat and held it out for him. "Jack, what do you think she wanted? The girl."

Jack slipped his arms into the offered sleeves. "You. Alive."

"I know that, but I can't get her smile out of my head." It hadn't been sinister, but it hadn't been sweet. It had been a knowing smile, a smile that told him that she knew something and was keeping it to herself. For now, at any rate. "I just worry about the why."

"Me too, which is why you're going to have me, Gwen, or Terry at your side every time you leave this hub or your flat."

Ianto groaned. "But Jack—"

"No buts." He grabbed Ianto's hand as he heard the sound of the cogwheel opening and closing, marking the exits of Gwen and Terry. "If she appears again, I would rather have someone with you in case she decides to hurt you."

His heart squeezed at the concern and protectiveness Jack's words radiated. Jack could be egotistical, idiotic, and a jerk, but he did have a good heart whenever he decided to use it. Jack may not love him, but he cared about him, and if Ianto had any sense he would listen to Jack's orders. He would listen not just for his own safety, but for the safety of his unborn child.

Ianto squeezed Jack's hand. "All right."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "That was easy."

He lowered his gaze. "Like you said, I have a passenger."

A sigh, then Jack tugged on his hand. Ianto thought he was trying to release Ianto's grip on his hand, but another tug made him realize that Jack was only urging Ianto to start moving so they could leave. Ianto hid a smile as they left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Once again, thank you for your lovely reviews!

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FOUR<strong>

Ianto smiled slightly at the sight of his baby on the monitor screen. He was getting accustomed now to idea of a baby inside of him after having four checkups in the last two weeks to monitor its development, which certainly made the truth sink in until it almost seemed natural. He was still unsettled at times—such as when Terry reported that an umbilical cord had somehow materialized and was now attached between the baby and Ianto's stomach—but at least it was no longer a shock. He still wasn't showing, but Ianto was grateful that he had a little extra time to come up with a way to hide his pregnancy whenever he ventured into the outside world. At least the nausea and the fatigue had faded away. It made the pregnancy much more bearable.

"Well, looks like that sac is doing its job and protecting the foetus. I wonder if the sac is stronger than it looks. It looks a bit thicker on the monitor." Terry was making notes on the clipboard he held. No doubt whatever information he was jotting down would be put in Ianto's new medical file, the one Terry opened as soon as Ianto announced his intentions to continue with the pregnancy. "Everything looks normal. You're progressing in much the same way a pregnant woman would. Any issues so far you want to talk about?"

"No, not much."

"Any bodily function issues?" A shake of his head. "Have you been reading that book I gave you?"

Ianto grimaced. When Terry and Ianto had discussed their twice-weekly appointments, Terry had given him an edition of "What To Expect When You Are Expecting," apparently the standard pregnancy book every woman turned to when they discovered that they were with child. Ianto had flipped through its contents, but it hadn't been much help when the only thing he can relate to was the pregnancy symptoms. Ianto didn't have to worry about sore breasts or spotted bleeding. "I glanced through it."

Terry smirked. "It's a pretty helpful book. Just because it's for women doesn't mean it can't help you out if you have a question and I'm not around to answer." He looked at the monitor. "Maybe in the next appointment we can see if we can hear the heartbeat."

Ianto perked up. "Why not do it now?"

"The positioning of the baby isn't the best. I need it to turn a little so the machine can pick up the heartbeat." He smiled at him. "At least we know it's healthy."

Terry turned off the monitor as Ianto sat up to button his shirt.

"Still looking to see what caused the pregnancy?"

Terry's voice was innocent, but Ianto got the feeling that the question wasn't the one he particularly wanted to ask. It was asked too casually, too disinterested. "No. I've just about given up on that." No matter how deep he dug, he failed to find the culprit. Jack had also got nowhere in his own search of possible aliens who could have made the conception possible.

"And how are things with you and Jack?"

Ah, so that was what he really wanted to ask. Ianto kept his attention on his buttons. "All right, I suppose."

"Still not willing to talk about the baby?"

Considering that Ianto had waited until Jack and Gwen were out to check on a rift alert before her went into the medical bay to have his appointment, it was fairly obvious that Jack was still refusing to hear anything concerning the baby. Not that there was much going on yet. Still, he would have liked to have Jack at his side every time Terry did a scan to monitor the baby's growth, or every time Ianto fretted about his belly growing and not knowing how he was going to properly hide it from the public. Since Ianto couldn't discuss these matters with Jack, he confided in Gwen and, surprisingly, Terry.

"Nope," he answered. He finished buttoning his shirt. "Still not willing to talk about the baby." He put on his jacket before slipping his bracelet onto his wrist. "It's easy right now because not much changed. The cravings are the only symptom I really have, but that isn't a big hassle to deal with. For Jack, at least." It was a different story for Ianto. He couldn't stop eating, couldn't stop craving all these assortments of food. He had to force himself not to give into the cravings half the time, and sometimes he was forced to find a suitable substitute that was easily available when he couldn't have the real thing. "I'm afraid of what'll happen when I start to show or when I have to shift my focus from Torchwood to the baby's needs once it's born."

Ianto slumped, feeling a bit dispirited. "Jack doesn't even believe it'll be born."

"For someone who declared himself pessimistic, you're fairly optimistic that the pregnancy won't end in tragedy." Terry smiled. "Transfer some of that optimism to Jack. He'll come around."

It was funny how just a few short months ago, Ianto couldn't decide if he liked Terry or not. Now he wondered why he ever felt threatened by the man. Maybe it was the knowledge that Ianto and Jack were together, or maybe it was the fascination with having a pregnant male as a patient, but for whatever reason, Terry was no longer hitting on Jack. There was still some flirtation, but it was the harmless sort and, much to Ianto's relief, the intimate touching that had offended him earlier shifted to friendly touches that Jack used to bestow on Owen or Tosh.

Ianto returned the doctor's smile as he considered what Terry just said. "Easier said than done. I know Jack. If he wants anything to do with this pregnancy, he has to come to that decision on his own. I can try to convince him, but I can't force him. I won't force him."

* * *

><p>Jack found Ianto in the firing range cleaning the weapons kept there for target practice. He grinned and strode forward until he moulded his body against Ianto's back. "It's been a while since we've done it in the firing range."<p>

Ianto shot him a droll look. "And do you remember what happened the last time we did it here?"

How could Jack forget? When Jack had been searching for a doctor to join their team, he had been in the middle of an interview when he had decided to seek out Ianto. He hadn't intended to fuck Ianto when he had looked for him, needing only his opinion on the newest candidate, but things had got a little out of hand and Jack had forgotten about the candidate—who hadn't been making much of an impression to begin with anyway—until she had caught them fucking. With Jack balls-deep inside of his lover, a startled gasp had given away her presence and shock of stumbling on her interviewer having sex. Apparently, she had got tired of waiting and had decided to be nosy.

The candidate had been duly retconned about Torchwood and Ianto had put him on decaf for three weeks.

He chuckled at the memory. He hadn't been embarrassed at being caught, not at all, and remembered the event with fondness. "You've forgiven me for that."

"Forgiven, most certainly not forgotten." Ianto wiggled in Jack's hold when he began to place kisses against the side of Ianto's pale throat. "_Jack_."

"No one is here. Gwen was given the day off and Terry left for a date."

"Date? He's dating someone? Did he tell you?"

Jack pulled back. "I wasn't supposed to know. I accidently eavesdropped on his conversation."

Ianto snorted. "There's no such thing as accidentally eavesdropping."

Jack ran his hands down Ianto's arms, wrapping his hands around his lover's wrists to pin them in place. He felt the leather bracelet, and he growled softly at that little show of wildness. "He was being sneaky. I wanted to know what he was up to." He leaned forward and grabbed Ianto's earlobe between his teeth. He tugged, smiling slightly at the way Ianto shivered. "Come on, Ianto. We haven't fucked in a while." He returned to Ianto's throat, this time using the tip of his tongue to lick long strips on soft skin.

"We've been busy."

That was true. The rift had been cruel to them in the past week, spitting out the most hostile of aliens, one right after the other, but even at their busiest, Jack and Ianto always made time for sex, even if it was a quickie in the hub's showers when no one was around. In recent days Ianto had only offered his mouth or hand to satisfy Jack, and he had never asked for anything more than that in return. The denial of sexual release within Ianto's body was what drove him to use the absence of the others to his advantage and drag Ianto to bed—or down to the nearest surface.

He turned Ianto around and planted his mouth over Ianto's lips. He plundered the orifice, doing his best to drown Ianto in pleasure until he denied Jack nothing. He cupped Ianto's cock and felt the hardness there. Ianto groaned into Jack's mouth, hips thrusting into his hand. He pressed Ianto against the wall, trapping him there before he reached up to undress him.

He managed to remove the tie and waistcoat, but as soon as his hands began to unbutton Ianto's shirt, hands came up to halt Jack's attempts. "Not now, Jack," Ianto murmured against Jack's mouth.

He groaned and pressed against Ianto's mouth. "Now," he muttered, attempting once more to undress Ianto.

"Jack, please." Ianto was breathless. "Let's wait." Ianto gasped, enclosed cock rubbing against the thigh Jack slipped in between his legs.

He managed to unbutton two buttons. "Jack, stop." He unbuttoned another, resisting Ianto's grip. "Jack." A third button slipped free from its hold. "_Jack_." He grabbed both sides of Ianto's shirt, ready to rip it apart. "_Stop_."

Jack was suddenly shoved back. Caught off-guard, he nearly tripped over his own feet and barely managed to stay upright. He stared at Ianto, who was glaring at him whilst crossing his arms over his stomach. Jack lifted his hands. "All right, that was a bit harsh."

"I told you to stop. Twice."

True, but Ianto always said stop and never meant it. Half the time, Ianto was the one trying to undress Jack even as he spoke words that completely contradicted his own actions. The only time Jack truly stopped was when Ianto said no. Ianto had told him early on in their relationship that while he can ignore all other forms of protests, an outright _no_ had to be honored immediately no matter what. From the way Ianto was glaring at him, he thought it best not to bring that up. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I go too far."

Ianto turned away. "Just listen next time."

"Can you at least tell me what I did wrong?" When Ianto gave him a perplexed expression, Jack said, "You deny me sex when I piss you off, either because I do something stupid or because I do something wrong. What did I do this time?"

Ianto tightened his lips. "I'm just not in the mood. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes, actually. The only times you're not in the mood is when you're tired or angry with me, but you're not tired now and you weren't mad at me until two seconds ago. Besides, you looked pretty damn in the mood when I grabbed your dick." Ianto's dirty look showed he didn't appreciate Jack's smart-ass words. He stepped close until he could rub Ianto's forearms. "So what's going on?"

He thought Ianto wouldn't answer when several seconds stretched by without a response, but Ianto finally muttered, "I'm starting to show."

Jack blinked. "Show?" He didn't get it.

Ianto grabbed one wrist and yanked Jack's hand down, forcibly placing it on his stomach. "I have a bump. I noticed it almost a week ago." Jack yanked his hand back and tried to ignore the flash of hurt in Ianto's eyes, an easy thing to do when Ianto hardened his expression and stared at him coolly. "_That's_ why I'm not in the mood to shag, okay? I wanted to honour your wishes not to have anything to do with my baby, and that includes not letting you know that my pregnancy is starting to become a little more noticeable."

"I . . ." Jack wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to say something witty or clever, anything to dissolve the thick tension that suddenly blossomed between them, but his brain wasn't cooperating. He remained silent, eyes rapidly shifting from Ianto's hard expression to his stomach and back again.

Ianto's expression softened. "I'm sorry. I'm becoming a bit moody. Possibly from the pregnancy." He picked up the pieces of clothing that Jack had let fall to the ground and held them close to his belly. "I need to finish cleaning the guns, sir."

He was using that stiff tone again, asking for distance. Jack nodded and beat a hasty retreat from the situation.

He felt slightly guilty for making Ianto apologize when he had done nothing wrong, but he felt pathetically grateful that he was given a respite and a way out from a discussion Jack never wanted to have. He wanted nothing to do with the baby, and so far he has managed to mostly pretend that Ianto wasn't pregnant.

If Ianto was starting to show, it was going to get a little harder to play pretend.

He reached his office and, after hesitating briefly, dug into the lowest drawer of his desk to grab his scotch. He snatched a glass from a nearby shelf and splashed the amber liquid into the glass. He took a sip, appreciating the burn of the alcohol down his throat as he collapsed into his chair. Jack pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand while keeping the glass of scotch in the other, his thoughts drifting to Ianto.

He thought it would be easy, this false world where nothing changed between them, but it was quickly becoming clear that things _have_ changed because this pregnancy was lasting a lot longer than he had first anticipated. But rather than making him feel better, it only scared him even more. The survival of the baby would likely cost Ianto's life, and he didn't know how he could handle that.

Jack had lost quite a few lovers over the long course of his life, but Ianto's death would be different. It wasn't just that he had feelings for Ianto that he refused to label or analyse; Ianto was the first person in a very long time that Jack actually allowed inside. Ianto knew a lot more about Jack—his immortality, some of his past memories, a few exploits when he was with the Time Agency—than any other previous lover. The Welshman knew Jack and his preferences, yet he accepted him anyways. Jack felt free to be who he was and get nothing more than a shake of a head or a curious raise of the eyebrow in response.

That was the one thing that set Ianto apart from Gwen. If the situation were different, if Gwen didn't have a husband and if Jack wasn't trying so hard to ensure that she kept a life separate from Torchwood to preserve her humanity, he would've taken her to bed by now. The attraction was still very much there, but Gwen would've asked for more. Hell, she would've _demanded_ more. Jack might've given it her, might not have, but either option would've led to a very short affair with her.

Ianto didn't demand much from Jack, didn't ask for fidelity, for his secrets, for his heart. He simply accepted whatever Jack could give him, and he knew that Ianto kept every little tidbit close. For that, Jack found himself willing to give him more than he has given anyone else.

And it frightened him to think that in a few months Ianto could die because something made it possible for him to carry the impossible.

Hell, it frightened him to think that he could lose Ianto at _any_ time. When the Wendigo had changed tactics from attacking Jack to trying to kill Ianto, icy fear ran through his veins because he had known he could do nothing. The Wendigo had been fast, the bullets hadn't worked, and Ianto had been in its sights. And Jack had been too fucking far away to dive in and save him. He had never felt more useless, standing there with no way of saving his own lover, and all he could think was that he was going to lose another lover, another friend, another co-worker, and it was happening right in front of him.

He thought he was going to lose Ianto.

Jack had been grateful for the little girl's interference. If her sudden appearance hadn't worried him, he probably would've picked her up and twirled her around.

While he was glad that she saved him, he now wondered what kind of threat she posed towards Ianto, what her agenda was in saving him. It was unclear if she was friend or foe, but Jack had decided to err on the side of caution rather than allow any unknown nemesis hurt Ianto.

Except that just a short while ago, Jack was the one hurting Ianto. Not with actions, not even with words. He hurt him by not acknowledging the baby.

Jack justified himself. Ianto had known from the start that he didn't want this baby. For two months Ianto had struggled with indecision before deciding all on his own and without talking to Jack that he was going to keep the baby, without giving him a chance to express his own opinions on the matter. Ianto had agreed to Jack's terms when he finally came to the conclusion that he didn't want to break things off with Ianto. It wasn't Jack's fault that Ianto felt hurt when he had pulled his hand away from Ianto's stomach. None of it was Jack's fault because he said that he _didn't want this baby_. He said it countless of times.

So why in the hell was he feeling so much guilt?

Jack downed the rest of his scotch, hoping that the alcohol would ease the guilt, but he was disappointed when it did nothing.

* * *

><p>Jack watched Ianto on the CCTV as the younger man cleaned out the SUV in the underground parking lot. Ianto was doing a lot of bending, reaching in and taking out any items or rubbish left behind by Jack and the others. With his pert ass sticking out, wonderfully moulded by the trousers he wore, it was the perfect opportunity to sit back in his chair and watch. He'd done it several times in the past, watching Ianto's ass and coming up with ways to enjoy that beautiful posterior later on.<p>

It was different this time. It's been different since yesterday.

When Ianto stepped away from the SUV and turned, Jack's eyes immediately zeroed in on his stomach, studying the shape, trying to see any sign of a curve emerging. He hadn't given himself time to feel the bump yesterday, his impulsive reaction denying him a chance to feel any kind of protrusion, so he wasn't sure if there truly was anything to look at. Not that he was labelling Ianto a liar, but past experiences told him that pregnant women often saw and felt baby bumps that others couldn't.

It didn't quite matter, though, considering that any swell, whether imagined or real, was going to be small enough to hide under Ianto's clothes. Didn't mean he couldn't try to see something there, just like he's been doing for the past twenty-four hours.

A part of him suggested he just ask to see it, but that would seem like he was interested in the baby, and he didn't want to lead Ianto on.

When Ianto returned to the main hub, Jack left the office to intercept him, bypassing Gwen working at her computer.

Ianto frowned, stopping when Jack stepped in front of him. "Something you need?"

He hesitated, purposely keeping his gaze above the shoulders. They hadn't really talked since Jack had ran out on him in the firing range, and last night, when Ianto had gone home, no invitation had been given and Jack hadn't asked for one.

He pursed his lips. "Are we okay?"

Ianto shrugged. "I guess." He walked around him.

Jack followed him to the kitchenette where Ianto began to wash his hands in the sink. The guilt that had accompanied Jack since yesterday pushed him to clear the air between them. "You took me off-guard when you, uh, put my hand on your stomach. My reaction was impulsive." When Ianto hunched slightly, Jack admitted, "But it was a pretty bad reaction."

Ianto finished washing his hands and grabbed a dish towel to dry them. "Yes, it was," he said.

Jack winced. "I can't apologize for how I feel or how I reacted," he continued, "but I can apologize for making you feel like you're the one who needed to apologize. I'm the one who acted cowardly. I'm the one who handled it badly. That wasn't your fault."

Ianto tossed the towel aside and looked at him, eyes flickering across Jack's face. "It wouldn't be fair for me to let you take all the blame," he finally said. "Your reaction wasn't all that surprising, now that I think about it. I shouldn't have made you touch my stomach. You definitely handled the news badly, but I completely mishandled my explanation."

"So we both fucked up."

When Ianto snickered, Jack knew that they had survived another spat. "Yes. We both fucked up." He stepped forward to kiss Jack. "We're good."

The rift alarm chose that moment to announce rift activity. He and Ianto quickly approached Gwen's workstation, where she was already looking up the coordinates.

"Large spike," she announced. "Really large spike, on the other side of the city."

"Arm up." Gwen nodded, leaving the workstation to gather her gun. "Terry!" he shouted so the redhead, who was in the medical bay, could hear him. "Get your ass in gear, we have a rift spike."

He turned to Ianto, who was already checking his own gun. Jack placed a hand on top of his to stop him. "Man the hub."

"What?" Ianto frowned, looking confused. "Why?"

"To help us coordinate."

Now Ianto looked even more confused. "Jack, the spike means it's something big and bad. I think you're going to need all of us out there."

True. For a spike such as this, it would probably be best to have Ianto with them to help, but Jack was hesitant. He couldn't quite explain it, but since that Wendigo attack, Jack hadn't been too keen on letting Ianto join him out in the field. Although his hesitance wasn't too surprising (he always felt a bit reluctant to send his team back out into the field whenever one or all of them nearly died from a previous mission gone wrong), it was lingering a lot longer than usual. Previous rift spikes since they had encountered the Wendigo had been manageable, not too dangerous, but even in those missions Jack had always ensured that Ianto stayed out of harm's way, protecting him from danger.

But this rift spike was huge, and Jack didn't want Ianto out there.

So used to sending his lover into danger, he was at a loss as to why he was suddenly making sure he kept Ianto out of it. It struck him as favoritism, something he did his best to avoid when it came to Ianto, but he couldn't quite help himself.

Looking at Ianto, trying to find a way to keep him back, there was only one thing that would probably convince Ianto to stay behind.

"Large spikes mean big danger. Big danger means chances of getting killed are high." Jack took out his Webley to make sure it was loaded. "Getting killed means no baby." He carefully didn't look at Ianto when he said that, keeping all his focus on his gun. It was a convenient way to avoid eye contact.

There was a surprised sound from Ianto. "Right. Of course you're right. I just find myself a bit unaccustomed to, um . . ."

He knew what Ianto wanted to say. His lover was a strong loyal soldier, always willing to follow Jack to even the most dangerous of missions. His instincts were to fight, not hide. Ianto wasn't used to being left behind, to being protected.

He looked up. "Man the hub," he repeated.

This time there was no argument. "Yes, Jack." There was a funny little smile on his face. Jack frowned.

"What?"

Ianto shook his head. "Nothing." He turned. "I'll bring the SUV around."

Five minutes later, Jack and his two helpers were driving through the streets of Cardiff. He could feel Gwen's eyes on him. "What?"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her smile. "You were a bit protective of Ianto back there."

"What do you mean?"

"When you told him to man the hub."

Ah, she overhead him and Ianto talking. "You eavesdropping on my conversations?" he teased.

Not one to stand down, Gwen shot back, "Yep, just like you eavesdrop on everybody else's conversations."

"Touché, Mrs. Williams."

Gwen wasn't sidetracked. "Back to you telling Ianto to stay behind. You were being protective. You wanted him to stay safe."

He squirmed a little. "I'm protective of all of you."

"Yep, you are." Terry, who sat in the back, leaned forward until his arms were hanging over Gwen's seat. "But since when do you tell anyone to stay behind?"

"And it isn't just that," Gwen continued. "Lately you've been acting . . . I don't know . . ."

"Like an expectant father being overprotective of his pregnant lover."

Jack clenched the steering wheel. "I'm not a complete monster." He barely refrained from snapping the words at Terry. "Ianto wants this baby. Just because I don't want it—and I _don't_ want it—doesn't mean I'm going to put him in a position where he might lose it."

"And you don't want that to happen."

He scowled. "Of course not." When he spied Gwen and Terry exchanging tiny smiles out of the corner of his eye, he knew they were taking his words the wrong way.

Time to correct them.

"I've seen him broken. Remember?" That question was thrown at Gwen, who looked momentarily chastened at the reminder of Lisa. Terry looked confused, but Jack merely said, "Not our story to tell." He returned his gaze to the road and went around a slow moving vehicle. "It took too long for him to be okay after that. I will not be responsible for putting that dead look in his eyes ever again and if that means making sure that damn baby survives for as long as possible then I'll do it. It doesn't mean I want the baby, okay? I just want Ianto happy."

He realized that his words may have revealed a lot more about his relationship with Ianto than he had wanted either one of them to know. It was one thing for them to know that he and Ianto were together, but it was another for them to know that it was an actual relationship and not a friends-with-benefits arrangement. They didn't call each other pet names or whisper words of love in the dark, but they dated, they fucked, and, Jack's guilty pleasure, they _cuddled_. They were—god, did he hate labels—a couple.

And Ianto didn't even know that he acknowledged it, if he remembered Terry's words correctly. Then again, they never really talked in depth about their relationship. How would Ianto know anything if they didn't talk about it? He followed Jack's lead, like always, and Jack never took that step to clarify their relationship.

He stopped at a red light, and he thought the conversation was over. He was just beginning to relax when Gwen said, "What happens once the baby is born?"

He sighed tiredly. "That's a bridge that will be crossed if it comes."

"You need to think about it, Jack." Gwen tucked her hair behind an ear. "You need to start making plans, discuss the baby's future, Ianto's job—"

"Ianto's not going anywhere." Jack tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The light turned green and he accelerated. "I'm not going to kick him off the team."

"What if he decides to leave?"

Jack shot an annoyed look in Terry's direction. "He won't leave."

"What makes you so sure? That baby can't be raised by a single parent in Torchwood. Two parents, maybe."

Jack understood the subtle message there. He shot the doctor another look, which went ignored. It showed how comfortable Terry was in this team if he was no longer afraid to bluntly speak his mind—or hint at his thoughts, at least.

"Look, it's none of your business."

Gwen and Terry shared a look. "Actually, it is."

The cryptic message was left unexplained and Jack dared not pry. He didn't want to talk anymore about the baby.

"Any information about the little girl?" Jack asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Sorry, no. Like I told Ianto a couple of weeks ago, there isn't much to go on. And it doesn't help that she hasn't showed up in a while." Gwen sighed. "It would make life so much simpler if she told us who she is and what she wants."

He glanced at the GPS in the SUV. They were getting close to the coordinates. "Keep your eyes peeled for her, though. I know Ianto is being a pain in the ass about never going anywhere on his own, but I would rather be safe than sorry."

He wasn't exaggerating about Ianto being a pain in the ass. At first Ianto hadn't been bothered much about having one of the others following him to and from the hub, but eventually Ianto had began to complain about being unable to go out on errands when no one was there to go with him or when all of them were too busy, and his irritation with the arrangement had only increased when there were no other appearances by the girl. Ianto had a theory that his babysitters were keeping the girl away, and had grumbled about the unfairness of it all.

A loud explosion rocked the SUV. Jack jerked the car to a halt just in time to see what looked like a gorilla shooting at buildings with a rocket launcher. The ape had to be over ten feet.

"Looks like _Planet of the Apes_ decided to pay Cardiff a visit," Terry muttered.

Jack grinned, adrenaline already pumping through his veins at the thought of a challenge. "Well, kids, anybody got a plan?"

* * *

><p>At the end of his fourth month of pregnancy, Ianto still didn't get a chance to hear his baby's heartbeat. The baby was stubborn, refusing to shift into a better position. It was disappointing. Looking at the baby's fluttering heart on the monitor wasn't enough, he wanted to hear it.<p>

Although everything seemed okay with the pregnancy, there were slight twinges of pain that worried him. He has felt them every now and then within the past week, and when he'd explained them to Terry, the doctor found nothing to explain their occurrences. Ianto was healthy and the baby was doing fine. The only explanation Terry gave (probably because it was the only explanation he could think of) was that Ianto's body was simply trying to adjust to the foetus's growth. Ianto was told to take it easy and rest.

The best place for him to take it easy and rest without feeling useless was in the Archives. He took a hiatus from organizing the artifacts and simply concentrated on the files.

As he was trying to separate documents that were from different decades that someone had clearly decided to lump together, a sharp pain made him gasp. Letting go of the document he held in his hand, he pressed his palm against the side of his stomach, grimacing. He took a breath as he rode the brief flash of pain. He hoped his body adjusted to the baby soon, because if he was going to endure the next five months with these slight spasms, he was going to be unhappy.

When the pain vanished, he waited to see if it would return, but when it didn't, he returned to his files.

"Is it so bloody difficult to organize documents into proper files?" he muttered.

He winced when the pain returned, stronger this time. He bit his lip, screwing his eyes shut. This spasm of pain also eventually passed, but once it did he was left with shaky breath. Twinges of pain were enough to worry him, but that last spasm wasn't a twinge. Far from it. It was sharp, almost white-hot. That was enough to scare him.

He set aside the documents and climbed to his feet. He didn't care how busy Terry was, he was going to drag the doctor away from whatever task Jack had handed him and make him do another scan. He wouldn't be able to relax otherwise, not until he knew his baby was okay.

He left his tiny makeshift workstation in the back of the Archives and headed towards the door. He was already half way there when he abruptly bent over, clasping an arm around his midsection and crying out at the sharp twist of agony in his abdomen. The pain nearly made his knees buckle. Something was wrong, very, very wrong, and his greatest fear stirred to life as a thought struck him.

He was going to lose the baby.

He moved a few steps forward, but the pain grew worse and he leaned against a filing cabinet, breathing heavily in the hopes that it would make the pain somehow bearable. He reached up to touch his comm so he could contact somebody to help him, but when he touched his actual ear, he realized his comm was upstairs in the kitchenette right next to the coffee machine where he had left it earlier.

He swallowed and turned towards his workstation. His phone was on his desk. Ianto used the filing cabinets to aid him in his journey, his belly throbbing like a thousand knives were stabbing him from the inside. He was still several feet away from his workstation when the pain seemed to magnify swiftly. It was too much. His knees really did buckle and he slid down to the ground, clutching at his stomach and wishing for whatever was happening to stop.

This hurt so bad, but the hurt wasn't just from physical pain, it was also from the emotional heartache at what this could mean. What if the baby died? He squeezed his eyes shut at the idea that he might miscarry. And what if _he_ died? He could die right there in the Archives, the baby dying with him, and no one would know until it was too late.

"Ianto!"

He opened his eyes as Jack's voice echoed throughout the Archives. Ianto thought he was hearing things, wishful thinking on his part, but when his name was called out again, he smiled briefly in relief before his lips twisted into a grimace as another spasm of pain rippled through his abdomen.

His voice caught in his throat, unable to give Jack a clue to his location. Ianto knew he needed to give Jack some idea of where he was because the Archives were huge and slightly confusing in the areas that were not organized yet. It would take forever until he was discovered. He sucked in a deep breath, and then shouted, "Jack!"

There was the scurry of feet and Jack suddenly rounded a corner, running until he skidded to a stop and crouched down beside him. Terry was at his heels, surprising Ianto before until another spasm made the surprise vanish.

"I think I'm losing the baby." Ianto barely managed to gasp the words as he was helped up to his feet. He couldn't straighten properly, following his instinct to curl in the hopes of lessening the pain.

"Let's not make any assumptions, okay?" Terry wrapped one arm around Ianto's waist to keep him steady. Jack was doing the same on the other side.

It was a long walk from the lower levels where the Archives were to the main levels of the hub. Jack muttered reassurances, and Ianto took comfort from his words. He leaned heavily against him, pausing a few times when the pain became too much for him to take another step.

When they emerged from the lower levels, Gwen was hovering nearby, ready to assist. Ianto didn't pay much attention to her as he was guided towards the medical bay. He desperately wanted to lie down and it took much too long before Ianto got his wish.

He was lain down on the medical table. "It's going to be okay, right?" Ianto grabbed Terry's wrist when the man stepped away. "Tell me it's going to be okay."

"Let me see what's going on first."

That wasn't the reassurance Ianto wanted, but he released Terry. He turned to Jack, who was holding his hand and staring down at him with a strained smile. "It's going to be okay."

"Do you really believe that?" he whispered. He didn't have the strength to say it louder.

"I have to." He was scared. Ianto could see it. It matched Ianto's feelings, even if their fears weren't about the same thing.

Ianto barely felt the prick on his arm, but the pain in his abdomen suddenly became muted and much more bearable. His eyelids grew heavy and he struggled to keep them open, eventually giving up and letting them close. He could hear Jack and Terry talking, but his mind was fuzzy and it was much too difficult to figure out what they were saying, so he drifted in a sea of fog, content.

* * *

><p>"What did you give him?"<p>

Jack ran a hand through Ianto's hair, seeing the calm expression on his young lover's face. Even if it was the result of drugs, it eased Jack's worries slightly to have Ianto relaxed instead of writhing in pain.

"Sedative, just enough to calm him down. Help me take his clothes off."

It was an easy opening for a lewd joke, but Jack was too worried to do so. As it was, all they removed was the upper clothing and the leather bracelet. Ianto was a private person, he wouldn't like to be completely nude in front of others if he didn't have to, although Jack undid Ianto's belt and unbuttoned his trousers so he could lower them just enough to leave Ianto's belly completely bare.

And Jack was taken off-guard when he finally saw the tiny swell that Ianto was able to conceal underneath his clothing. Since the incident in the firing range two weeks ago, Jack had stopped pushing Ianto into having sex, and they had simply returned to their arrangement of blowjobs and hand jobs to satisfy each other. He never got another chance to see the alleged bump, and now that he was seeing the visual evidence of Ianto's pregnancy, he was mystified. It was barely noticeable, yet it was proof that something really was growing in there.

His attention was diverted when Terry scanned Ianto. "Damn it, I hoped Ianto wouldn't miscarry."

"_Is_ it a miscarriage?" Gwen asked. She stood behind the railing, looking down into the medical bay with her eyes wide with worry.

"I don't know, but Ianto thinks it is, and we all knew it was likely."

The baby showed up on the monitor, curled into a tight ball. Jack was fascinated. It looked like an actual baby. The last time saw it, the baby had been nothing more than a sac filled with cells. Now there were two little hands curled close to its chest and tiny toes tucked against its body. It was moving. A lot. Jerky movements that Jack was pretty sure were impulsive and not done on purpose.

"The baby's okay. I can see the heart beating." Terry pressed some buttons on the monitor and the image changed from a clear picture of the foetus to one of colours. The foetus was still visible, but only by the rich red colour that filled out the body, as if a child had coloured in the outline in a children's colouring book.

"So why is Ianto in pain?" Jack glanced down, noting how out of it Ianto was.

Terry studied the monitor's screen with a worried frown on his lips. "All the red are pain sensors. The baby itself isn't feeling pain, but the pain that Ianto feels is stemming from the baby. Something is happening with the foetus and its hurting him." He ran a hand through his hair and turned to face Jack. "Since this pregnancy started I kept wondering why the body wasn't rejecting the baby, because that's what the body does, it fights against intruders that don't belong in the body, and the baby doesn't belong there. The body is supposed to defend against invaders."

He glanced at the monitor screen and then placed a hand on Ianto's stomach, chewing on his lip. "Ianto's body might be doing that now, trying to destroy the intruder." Terry suddenly looked crestfallen. "I think he's going to lose the baby."

Jack's inhaled sharply at the news and he closed his eyes. Damn it. He had expected this to happen, but it was only now that he realized how much he had hoped for the baby to make it. For Ianto's sake. What had Ianto said? Torchwood saves one life, but ten more die. It may not be an accurate estimate, but the sentiment was the same. Ianto suffered so much because of Torchwood, and he received very little reward in return. A miscarriage was just one more thing Ianto would lose at the hands of Torchwood and all because he wasn't born a woman.

"Can you stop it?" Jack opened his eyes. Terry was giving him a puzzled look. "The miscarriage. Is there any way to stop it?"

"Jack, a miscarriage is not something that can be stopped. It happens—"

"But it hasn't happened. There has to be a way to stop it."

"If the fifty-first century hasn't found a way to stop a male pregnancy from ending in miscarriage, what in bloody hell makes you think that a twenty-first century doctor can stop a miscarriage? It just happens. There isn't a way to stop it."

"I never said that there wasn't a way." He looked at the monitor again, eyes locked on the shape of a very human foetus. "I said people died and miscarriages occurred because there wasn't a doctor there in time to save the man and his unborn baby." The baby jerked again. He wondered if Ianto could feel the movements or if they were still too small for him to actually feel anything. "Hospitals in the cities had the technology for men to give birth successfully. In my village, we didn't have that kind of technology. The village doctors didn't have the resources to stop it from happening."

"So there's a way?" Gwen clambered down the stairs to stand by Ianto. Her eyes were locked on the monitor as well. Had she not see the baby before now?

Jack had been aware that Ianto had appointments with Terry to monitor the pregnancy, but while Gwen had done her best to convince Jack to be more involved in the pregnancy, Jack now realized that she had never mentioned seeing the baby. Jack had just assumed she had seen it.

"There has to be a way." He turned to Terry. "Think." The word couldn't be described as anything other than an order.

Terry looked unconvinced by Jack's little speech. "Did they actually stop a miscarriage while it was happening, or did they simply have the technology to make sure a miscarriage didn't occur at all?"

Jack honestly didn't know. He had been young, barely a teenager when the aliens had attacked his village and drastically changed his life, ending with two dead colleagues and a crazed younger brother in cryogenic storage. There had been no time to dwell on pregnant men. It had just been a part of his life, something he accepted as fact.

He looked down at Ianto's face, still relaxed, eyes partially opened but completely dazed and unaware. Jack's own eyes ran down the column of his throat, his chest, and eventually returned to the small protrusion that formed Ianto's stomach. His fingers itched to touch.

"Jack?"

"I have no clue." He lifted his head up. "I don't have all the answers, and if I did I would tell you. But I'm asking you to find a way."

"I don't know how you expect me to do that. I can't stop the body from trying to get rid of the baby. I'm sorry Jack, but—" Terry cut himself off, his expression quickly morphing from sadness to stunned realization. He simply stared at Jack for a moment before he quickly turned to his medical equipment. "Maybe . . ."

"Terry?" Gwen reached out to smooth back Ianto's hair. "What are you doing?"

"If my theory is correct—that Ianto's body is trying to destroy what it deems as a threat to the body—then maybe I can weaken the body's defenses. I have no idea if it'll work, though."

"How will you weaken the body's defenses?" Jack asked, grabbing a hold of Ianto's hand and rubbing his thumb against Ianto's knuckles. He hoped his lover sensed his presence.

"We all know what the body's defenses is, right?"

"Immune system," Gwen answered.

"Yep. It's supposed to keep the nasty bugs out of our bodies, but when viruses or diseases enter the body, a human's immune system knows it's a threat to the human body, and it knows it doesn't belong there, so it attacks the virus or disease."

From his vantage point, Jack could see Terry mixing a couple of liquid drugs together in a tiny beaker. "That's why we aren't getting sick every other day with all the diseases and viruses we have going around the city on a daily basis," he continued saying. "But without an immune system, the body is left defenseless. The weaker the immune system, the higher the chance of getting sick, so—"

"What does any of this have to do with Ianto and the baby?" Jack interrupted, feeling a little impatient by Terry's lack of clarity.

"I'm getting to that." Terry opened a couple of cabinets. "Sometimes there are reasons for it, and sometimes there isn't, but when a miscarriage occurs, it doesn't try to kill the baby. A miscarriage occurs because the baby is already dead. The foetus is no longer viable, and the body knows that, and it knows the dead foetus doesn't belong in the body anymore, so it forcibly expels it from the body."

He glanced at them over his shoulder with excitement in his eyes. "But it's just like you said, Jack. The miscarriage hasn't happened yet. Ianto's baby is still alive." He returned to his mixture, his body preventing Jack from seeing what the doctor was doing. "Maybe the baby's growth has got to a point where his body got a clue and realized that the foetus is something that shouldn't be there. For whatever reason, Ianto's immune system is now attacking it."

"It wants to destroy the intruder." Jack blinked as he finally understood what Terry was saying.

"Exactly. The body is trying to dispose of it because his immune system is treating the baby as a threat." Terry turned around, holding up a needle in his hand. "So maybe I can weaken the immune system enough so that Ianto's body won't be able to attack the foetus."

"And this will save the baby?"

Although Terry looked excited, it did nothing to hide the flicker of doubt that appeared in his green eyes. "I honestly don't know. And I don't even know if what I just said is really what's going on, but it's the only theory I got and this is all I can do right now." He approached Ianto and found a suitable vein in his arm.

"It's safe?" Jack nodded at the needle in Terry's hand. "For Ianto and the baby?"

"This is only going to affect Ianto's immune system. It won't harm the baby." Terry waited. Jack nodded his permission and the doctor plunged the needle into Ianto's skin. Jack watched the clear liquid disappear from the syringe as it was pushed into Ianto's bloodstream. Once the plunger was pressed all the way down, Terry removed the needle and deposited it into a bin reserved for used needles. "Now we wait."

And waited they did. With Ianto still sedated, the only way they could tell if Terry's plan was working was by watching the monitor to see if the rich colour that filled the baby's outline would change. Terry paced, Gwen tapped her foot, and Jack held onto Ianto's hand.

Eventually, Jack asked, "You said you could see the heart. Where is it?"

Terry pointed to where a small speck fluttered. "The movements mean its beating."

"You can't hear it?"

The doctor blinked before lightly tapping his own forehead. He opened the door of a cabinet. "The baby has been stubborn, not getting in a good enough position so we could hear the heartbeat clearly. Ianto's been dying to hear it."

Terry grabbed some electrodes and wires, plugging the ends of the wires to the monitor and placing the electrodes on Ianto's belly. He was reaching for the monitor, presumably to turn the sound on, when Jack stopped him.

"Ianto hasn't heard the heartbeat?"

Terry frowned, but shook his head. "No, not yet."

Jack nodded. "And your theory—if it works, the red will change to other colours?"

"Yes, that's right. It'll change to orange and yellow."

"Get out. Both of you." Terry gaped while Gwen immediately began to protest. "Look, there's nothing else either one of you can do right now. This plan either works or it doesn't. If it doesn't, I want to tell him without either one of you hovering over him with sad faces. And if it works, I don't think he'll appreciate being the last one to hear the heartbeat of his baby."

"I need to be here," Terry insisted. "I need to monitor—"

"I'm not banishing you from the hub, just from here. Monitor Ianto's and the baby's vitals from the main area. It should already be programed in Tosh's old workstation."

Jack had seen Owen do it once. Suzie had been recovering from an alien disease, and her inability to get out of bed had turned her into a grumpy patient, one that had driven Owen away from the medical area where she rested. To give each other space but still keep an eye on her vitals, Owen and Tosh had managed to connect the monitors in the medical bay to Tosh's workstation where Owen could check Suzie's vitals without having to physically deal with her.

His words, however, didn't make Gwen or Terry leave. Jack let a little of his own vulnerability show. "Please. I want to be alone with him." He couldn't help the weary tone in his voice.

Gwen eyed him, but eventually nodded. She headed towards the stairs.

Terry inched his way towards the stairs as well, reluctance clear in every step he took. "If something happens—"

"I'll call for you."

Jack watched them disappear up the stairs before he returned his gaze to Ianto. Still sedated, but obviously comfortable.

Swallowing, he looked at the monitor screen, his eyes tracing the outline of the baby. It was still making those sharp movements, but Jack managed to find the fluttering little speck that represented the baby's heart. He rounded the table and reached for the monitor, but he hesitated when his finger hovered over the button for the audio feed.

It was true that he wanted to be alone with Ianto, but his request for the others to leave was mostly due to an urge, a gnawing need, to hear the heartbeat. It was an urge he couldn't quite ignore, and he didn't want any witnesses to see his reaction once he heard it because underneath that feeling of need was fear. He was scared to hear the heartbeat. He wasn't sure why, but he broke out in a sweat just thinking about it.

He drew his hand back, leg starting to jiggle from a combination of anxiety and nerves. He watched the baby's jerky movements, wondering if it was a bad sign that the baby's body was still showing up in red on the monitor. The heart still fluttered, though, so he took comfort from that.

But he wanted to hear it, not just see it. He spent the last three months pretending it didn't exist, and now he desperately wanted to listen to the heart, to hear the proof that it still beat. It was something he constantly did with Ianto whenever the latter came close to death, placing his head on Ianto's chest to hear his heartbeat, the soothing _da-dum, da-dum_ proving he survived another day.

He took a shaky breath, dug deep for courage, and finally turned on the audio feed.

His breath hitched and his throat tightened. There was a slight humming sound behind the heartbeat, but it wasn't enough to drown out the sound. The rhythmic _da-dum, da-dum, da-dum _was surreal, almost overwhelming, and so fucking beautiful.

God, this was _his _baby. The heartbeat, the little squirming body, he helped create it, but instead of embracing the baby, he had denied it. He had rejected it so swiftly, so firmly, and it struck him that by doing so, he rejected Ianto.

Jack turned to Ianto, and with unsteady fingers he traced the small swell that was Ianto's stomach. He was seized with a sudden urge to press his ear against the swell and gave into it, bending down and pressing his ear against Ianto's stomach. It was slightly hard, which confounded him. Was it another side-effect of the baby growing inside? Was it dangerous? He was ashamed to realize that he didn't know. For all his knowledge about male pregnancy, he didn't know anything about this pregnancy.

It had been easier to pretend that it wasn't happening, easier to say that no baby existed in there, because pretending meant that he didn't have to think of a bleak future that left Jack with a lover who was permanently broken by a miscarriage. Or worse—another lover's death. He had pushed the unborn baby away, had pushed Ianto away, and had even pushed Gwen and Terry away, refusing to let go of his selfish desires. He had allowed his fears to overshadow what Gwen and Terry had tried to tell him all along.

They were right; he couldn't let Ianto go through this alone. Ianto needed him now more than ever. Jack had let Ianto down way too many times to count, but this couldn't be one of those times.

Was Jack ready to be a father once more? No, far from it. Was he ready to try the family thing again? Definitely not, but it didn't really matter because as he rested his head on Ianto's belly, he realized that he wanted this baby. He absolutely, positively _wanted_ it.

He would make it work somehow, he decided. He would find a way to have this baby in his life.

If the baby lived.

He got onto the table with Ianto, curling around him. In much the same way Jack liked waking up from the dead in Ianto's arms, Ianto liked waking up with Jack's arms around him. He kept his hand on the gentle protrusion, stroking the soft skin, wanting to keep contact with the baby even through flesh.

"I'm sorry, Ianto." No response, but he didn't expect any. He kept his eyes on the monitor, promising to be there for Ianto no matter what happened.

* * *

><p>Sounds reached Ianto's ears: the humming from an air conditioner, a squawk from Myfanwy, and an odd rhythmic noise that made Ianto frown. He carefully opened his eyes as the cloudy mist receded, revealing white cabinets, white walls, and machinery that his muddy mind managed to recognize as Terry's medical equipment. He was being held too.<p>

His frowned deepened.

He shifted as he tried to rid the fuzziness that was making it difficult for him to understand what was going on.

He turned his head and blinked at Jack. The man smiled. "Hello."

"Hello." He blinked again, and abruptly the mist completely dissipated as he realized what happened. "The baby." He reached for his belly, one hand landing on a hand that was already there while the other touched the side of the tiny swell. Did the swell mean it was okay? Or did he simply have a dead baby inside of him? "Is it—?"

"Listen."

Worried, Ianto didn't heed Jack's single word. "The baby—"

"_Listen_."

Worried and now confused, he simply stared into Jack's blue eyes, seeking answers. Jack's eyes were calm, even a bit content. Was that good or bad?

Through the worry and confusion, that odd rhythmic sound reached his ears again. It sounded strangely familiar. In fact, it sounded like a—

His eyes widened, and he couldn't prevent the soft sound of surprise escaping his mouth as he realized what it was: a heartbeat.

He turned to one of Terry's monitor. The image wasn't the clear visual that he was used to seeing, it was more like a thermal image used to identify humans and warm-blooded mammals, but the curled up outline was his baby, filled with orange and yellow hues, and coming through the monitor's speakers was a sound that he has been waiting for what felt like forever to hear. It was an amazing, gorgeous sound. It somehow made it more real.

"The baby's okay?"

"Yep." Jack squeezed Ianto just a bit. "Your body considered the baby a threat, so it was trying to cause a miscarriage, and that's why you were in pain."

Ianto absorbed this information. It had never occurred to him that his own body would try to kill the baby. "But I'm okay now? My body isn't trying to kill it?"

"Terry gave you something to weaken your immune system, make it difficult for it to try to get rid of the baby. I'm not sure if your immune system is going to be weak until the birth or if Terry will give you something else so your immune system can be strong without putting the baby at risk. He's probably thinking about that right now."

"Where is he? And Gwen. I saw Gwen."

"I kicked them out of the medical bay. Terry is monitoring your vitals from Tosh's workstation. I didn't want them to hear the heartbeat before you. He said you've been waiting to hear it."

"Yes." Ianto inhaled and closed his eyes. "It's surreal. I can listen to it all day." He reopened his eyes. "Stubborn baby," he murmured, remembering the frustration every time Terry shook his head and reported that the baby wasn't in a good enough position to hear the heart. Very stubborn baby, much like Ianto. Much like Jack. Who, Ianto realized, had a hand on his stomach.

He glanced down. Ianto's hand rested on top of Jack's, a surprise that he hadn't noticed earlier, too worried about the baby. While his worry over his baby's safety receded, his confusion only grew. The last time Jack had touched his stomach, Ianto had forced him to and the touch had lasted only a second before Jack had hastily pulled his hand back as though the touch burned. A hurtful reminder.

"Jack?" He turned his head to look at him, again looking into Jack's eyes for answers. "What are you doing?"

Jack seemed to know what he was asking without needing clarification because he said, "Doing what any other expectant father does."

Ianto inhaled sharply. His own heartbeat raced a little faster at the implication of Jack's words, but that didn't help erase his confusion. In fact, it only confused him more. "I don't understand."

Jack heaved a heavy sigh and pulled away. He hopped off the medical table and Ianto mourned the loss of contact. He watched as Jack began to pace. He thought about saying something, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say so he simply waited.

Jack eventually stopped in front of the monitor. He kept his eyes on the screen as he began to speak. "You know I had two children. A boy in the 1920s and a girl in the 1970s."

"What about the baby you were pregnant with?"

Jack snorted. "That was more alien than baby. Didn't even look like me. I was more of an incubator for it than a parent, so I don't count it." From his vantage point, Ianto saw his features soften. "But god, my son and daughter were so beautiful. Tiny little human beings." He turned to fully face Ianto. "My son, I loved him, I really did, but I spent the first two months of his life blaming him."

Ianto's brows furrowed. "For what?"

"His mother died giving birth to him," Jack explained. "I loved his mother. She was—well, she was something else. Made me see that being left behind by the Doctor wasn't the worse thing he could have done."

Ianto was ashamed to feel a smidgen of jealousy. He forced himself to ignore it, reminding himself that this woman was no longer alive. If Jack wanted to remember her, then Ianto would damn well leave Jack to it without letting his own insecurities and jealousy get in the way.

Jack continued speaking. "When she died, I mourned and virtually ignored my own child because I looked at him and thought 'she's dead because of you.'" He rubbed the back of his neck, looking up towards the ceiling. "By the time I managed to realize that I couldn't blame my son for his mother's death, he died. He contracted scarlet fever. Didn't even make it past the night." He took in a shaky breathe. "I threw myself into work and allowed myself to die quite a few times. My version of penance."

"Jack." Ianto wanted to reach out, to comfort, but he was too far. "I'm sorry." The words seemed inadequate, especially when Jack shrugged a shoulder, trying to look indifferent about it. Ianto swallowed. "What about your daughter? Did she die, too?"

"No. She was taken from me. I had an affair with another Torchwood operative. When my daughter was born, we attempted to raise her together. When she was three weeks old, she was kidnapped by one of my enemies." Jack's eyes lost focus for a moment. "Worst three days of our lives. She was unharmed when we got her back, but her mother was scared. She was aware of my immortality and knew that I had several enemies from all over the universe." He smirked, the curve humorless. "That's what happens when you're a conman." His eyes were filled with sadness. "She took the baby, left Torchwood, changed their names, and told me to stay away." Jack walked to Ianto's side. "Alice, my daughter, she's all grown up now and wants nothing to do with me."

He perched on the medical table and cupped Ianto's stomach, rubbing lightly. "When we learned that you were pregnant, all I kept thinking was, what if it dies? How will I make that better for you? What if you die? Will I hate my child? And what happens if an enemy realizes that my child is the best way to hurt me? Will you leave me, take the baby with you?" Jack lifted his eyes and gave him a twisted version of a smile, his eyes full of cynicism. "I have an issue with being left behind."

Ianto knew that all too well. The Doctor's abandonment several thousand years into the future and high up in space had implanted a seed of fear within Jack of being abandoned. Jack didn't like being left behind; he preferred to do the leaving instead. Some of Ianto's insecurities stemmed from knowing that Jack preferred to leave a lover before the lover left him. Sometimes when he lay in bed all alone without any idea of where Jack was, Ianto would hear a whisper in his ear telling him that Jack would leave him one day.

He gave Jack a soft smile. "I knew you were scared, Jack. I just wished you told me this earlier. I would've understood your distance better, and I wouldn't have felt so . . ."

"Alone?" Jack said softly.

Ianto nodded. "Alone. Rejected." He sighed and covered Jack's hand, the one that rested on his belly, with his own. "But Jack, I'm scared, too. I'm scared that I won't see my baby grow up. I'm scared I won't be able to carry it full term. And I'm scared that we'll both live and I'll be the worse father in history."

"What makes you say that?"

"I didn't have the best role models for parents. I've been taking care of myself for so long that it's scary to think that I'm going to have a little baby to care for."

"You're good at taking care of others." Jack gave him a crooked smile. "You take care of me, Gwen, and even Terry."

"It's not the same. You don't depend on me to raise you right, or to teach you the things a father needs to teach his children. I'm scared I'm going to screw this kid's life up, or he'll grow up hating me—"

"This baby isn't your sister's kids. It's yours." Jack turned his hand so their fingers can interlace together. "And the baby will love you."

It was hard to believe such words when one had first-time-parent jitters. It was hard to believe that he'll be a good father to anyone.

"Ianto," Jack murmured, grasping Ianto's jaw and making him tilt his head so they could make eye contact. "You defied me in order to keep this baby. I can't see someone who fought so hard to keep his unborn baby alive not being a good father. You're going to be wonderful to this kid."

"Maybe." Ianto was still doubtful, despite Jack's certainty.

He considered what Jack said about his previous children, and about the fears he had concerning the child Ianto now carried, specifically the fear that Ianto would take the baby away. He may not be able to get rid of his own fears, but he can get rid of Jack's.

"I will never take this child from you."

Jack looked away. "And if an enemy decides to threaten the baby?"

"If I must, I will leave Torchwood, and if necessary I'll change my name and the baby's name to protect us from your enemies, but never to protect us from you." He shook Jack's hand a little, forcing him to understand. "I want you in the baby's life. I've always wanted you in the baby's life. That's not negotiable."

Jack smiled slightly. It was small, but at least it was the most genuine smile he has given him since Ianto woke up.

He hated to take that smile away with negative words, but this needed to be said. "And if the baby dies—" He had to stop and clear his throat. "If it dies while it's inside me or if it's stillborn, I'm going to need you. That's how you'll make it better, by simply being there. And if I die—" He sat up a little, making sure he had Jack's attention. "If I die, I need you to love the baby. I need you to love it, hold it, kiss it. You need to be a father to this baby if you decide to raise it, and if you realize you can't, you need to love it enough to give it to a proper couple to raise it. So I need you to love it."

Jack used his free hand to cup Ianto's cheek, rubbing the cheekbone with his thumb. "I'll love our baby. I promise."

Ianto closed his eyes, feeling a weight lift off his chest. "Our baby?" he whispered.

He opened his eyes just in time to see Jack leaning forward, pressing his lips against Ianto's forehead. "Our baby."

It was a perfect moment. Admittedly, Ianto was a man with a baby growing inside him, Jack was an immortal man from the fifty-first century, and there was a possible threat roaming the streets who may or may not be an actual little girl, not to mention that they were members of a secret organization who worked underground and dealt with aliens on a daily basis. Their lives weren't perfect, but for that one moment, with their hands on his belly and the baby's heartbeat filling the room, all was right in Ianto's world, and that made it perfect.

It was a few minutes later, with Jack now cradling him from behind as they listened to the baby's heart beating, when Ianto said, "You brought Terry with you to the Archives. You knew I was in trouble." He tilted his head to look up at Jack. "How did you know I needed help?"

Jack looked slightly sheepish. "Watching you on the CCTV."

"What? Why?" Ianto frowned. "Were you trying to check out my arse?"

His lover chuckled, but shook his head. "Terry once described me as an expectant father feeling a little overprotective of his pregnant lover." Jack gave him a rueful smile. "I didn't realize until now that watching you on the CCTV had less to do with wanting to watch your ass and more to do with making sure you were okay."

That was one of the sweetest things Ianto has ever heard. He bit his tongue from saying it out loud, seeing Jack look more than a little embarrassed by his admission, so he simply said, "Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Ianto bit back a smile when Jack used the back of his hand to lightly brush Ianto's stomach before the man leaned in for a kiss. Jack did that a lot, brushing his stomach.

The difference between a Jack who rejected his unborn child and a Jack who wanted to be involved was startling. It was a complete one-hundred and eighty degree turn. There were no more blank expressions when cravings were mentioned, no awkward pauses whenever Gwen or Terry referred to his pregnancy, and Jack was no longer afraid to touch the swell hidden under Ianto's clothes. Ianto was free to talk of the pregnancy and the baby's future without worrying about Jack's reactions. It was liberating to not watch what words came out of his mouth whenever he mentioned his pregnancy.

"You're going to spill your coffee," Ianto mumbled, bringing attention to the mug he held in his hands.

Jack pulled back and grabbed his mug, placing it on his desk. "There. Problem solved." Jack leaned in again but Ianto slapped a hand on his chest.

"I didn't come here for a make-out session." He tilted his head up and slightly narrowed his eyes. "Is there a reason why I got a call from the Prime Minister telling me that he couldn't believe Captain Jack Harkness was using impending fatherhood as an excuse to avoid a meeting?" Ianto arched a brow.

Jack shrugged. "Oops."

"Oops? All you can say is oops?" When Jack refused to look guilty about it, Ianto released an exasperated sigh. "Jack, you know I don't want anyone to know about this." Ianto wasn't too keen on anyone outside of Torchwood knowing that he was carrying a baby inside of him.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell him you're a man. Besides, I knew he wouldn't believe me when I said my lover's pregnant. I just wanted to end the conversation." Jack's cheeky grin softened to a real smile. "I would never let anyone know about your pregnancy. The last thing I want is overambitious U.N.I.T. officers and highly curious scientists barging in here and taking you away for experimentation."

Ianto glanced down at his belly. A little more noticeable. Ianto was forced to wear his newer shirts that he had bought to specifically accommodate the growing roundness. "If I don't find a proper way to hide this, I might be taken in for experimentation anyway."

"I thought you said you'd tell people it's a tumour if they ask."

"If you saw a man walking down the street with a stomach as big and round as the stomach of a pregnant woman, would you honestly believe that it's a tumour?"

Jack tapped Ianto's nose. "Humans like to find logical reasons when the obvious is staring right in their faces. They'll believe anything you tell them since the idea of a pregnant man is inconceivable to them."

Jack had a point, but the logic was difficult to accept. Ianto swore that he was starting to get looks. Jack assured him that he wasn't, but Ianto felt like everyone was looking at him, or more specifically, looking at his stomach. Ianto knew it would get worse once his swell grew to a more round shape.

He glanced at Jack's desk and frowned. There were seven folders, each with a picture paper-clipped on the front. He tilted his head to get a better view of the people in those pictures. "What are these?"

Jack circled his desk so he could sit in his leather chair, taking a long sip of his coffee as he did so. "These would be the first batch of potential candidates who might work here at Torchwood Three."

Ianto's brows shot up in surprise. "We're hiring?"

"Weren't you the one that told me we should get someone else?"

"Well yes, but you never brought it up again."

"We need more people." Jack waved his index finger between the two of them as he lifted his feet and propped them at the edge of his desk, crossed at the ankles. "You and I are going to have a baby to look after in less than five months, and you're going to be useless once you get bigger."

Ianto scowled. "I'm sure there was a more tactful way to say that, Jack."

"Pretty sure." Jack grinned.

Jack liked poking the bear, and Ianto was starting to notice that he could become a prickly bear when pushed. Terry labelled it as hormonal imbalance; Ianto wasn't hormonal. Moody, yes, but hormonal had a bit of a negative stigma to it that Ianto didn't appreciate.

"Look," Jack continued, "the point is that we need to expand our team a little. We need a computer specialist, that's for sure. I was thinking of hiring a weapon's specialist as well, someone who can help make sense of any alien weapons that come our way. We also need another police liaison now that Gwen is more trenched into Torchwood matters."

"What about her friend Andy?"

Jack grimaced. "No. He's too . . ." He waved his hand around as he sought the perfect word to describe him.

"Soft?" Ianto prompted.

Jack snapped his fingers. "Yes! He isn't hard enough for this line of work. I doubt he'd last a week."

"He's helped us quite a few times, though. Besides, he already has an idea that we're more than just special ops. Why else would he call us whenever he stumbles upon something he thinks is alien?"

"I'm not denying that he's useful, but he's useful as a constable, not a Torchwood agent." Jack shook his head. "He's out of the question." He indicated the closed files on his desk with a nod of his chin. "These people will probably handle Torchwood better."

Ianto grabbed a folder, looking at the picture. A ginger female with dark blue eyes and a noticeable mole on her right cheekbone. He opened the folder, took one look at the name, and promptly closed it. "No." He tossed the folder on the desk. "Not her."

Jack looked surprised by his firm response. "You have a problem with . . ." He grabbed the discarded folder and opened it. "Penny Johnson?"

"Yes, I do. I knew her in secondary school. Dated her, in fact. Bloody bitch slept with someone else, got pregnant, and tried to pin it on me. She was a brunette with brown eyes the last time I saw her."

Jack chuckled and discarded the folder. "All right, no Penny."

Ianto grabbed another folder. A platinum blond bloke with a wide smile. Twenty-eight, graduated at the top of his class at MIT in North America, and currently had a patent in the works. Sounded like a potential candidate for their computer technician. Ianto silently went through the other folders. "Everyone else seems all right," he said after glancing over the last folder. "Do you want me to set up interviews?"

"Not yet. I want to dig a little deeper on these people, glean every detail of their life."

Ianto glanced at his watch. "If that's the case, I'm going to take a quick trip to the drycleaners."

Jack was already going through the folders. "Gwen going with you?" he asked absently.

"No." Ianto headed towards the door.

"Terry?"

"Too busy."

He tried to be quick, but he barely managed to take a step out of the office before Jack's hand clamped around his upper arm. "Hold it. You're not going by yourself."

Ianto knew he should've lied, but with Gwen sitting right there in front of her workstation and Terry making noises in the medical bay, Ianto's lie wouldn't have lasted longer than a minute. "Jack, you all have things to do. I've already fed Myfanwy, Janet, and you lot, and now it's time for me to pick up my dry cleaning."

Jack stubbornly shook his head. "You know the deal. You're not going anywhere by yourself. I'll go with you."

Someone must have been watching over him because the phone on Jack's desk began to ring. Jack glanced at it, but made no move to answer it.

"Aren't you going to answer it? It's probably the Prime Minister. He said he would call around this time."

"Ianto—"

"I'm tired of not going anywhere by myself." Ianto scowled, expressing his displeasure over the situation. "The little girl hasn't appeared in over a month and I don't think she will if all of you are always at my side."

Jack continued to ignore the ringing phone. "Just because you can't see her doesn't mean she isn't watching you."

Ianto was aware of that. He was also aware that the little girl was probably waiting for Ianto to be alone to make her move, but Ianto was starting to feel more than a little suffocated. He wasn't allowed to take even a single step out of the hub without someone flanking him. It was irritating, making him feel like a child for needing a babysitter to walk with him to and fro.

"I may be carrying your baby, Jack, but that doesn't mean I forgot how to use a gun or take precautions." That was another thing that was bothering him, how everyone seemed to forget that Ianto wasn't weak or defenseless. Pregnancy didn't make him an invalid who couldn't do anything.

The phone stopped ringing. "I'm not suggesting you can't defend yourself, but you saw what she did with the Wendigo. She turned that thing to dust without even touching it. Who knows what she'll do to you if she gets her hands on you."

The phone began to ring again. "Look, Gwen is talking on the phone with London officials about those alien dogs, Terry is still experimenting to see if he can find a drug that would strengthen my immune system without putting the baby at risk, someone is obviously trying to reach you, and the drycleaners close in less than twenty minutes."

"I don't want you or the baby in danger," Jack said firmly.

Ianto honestly didn't want to be in danger either, but he couldn't hide from the little girl forever. Eventually Ianto would need to leave the hub and his flat on his own without someone holding his hand. "I'm not trying to put us in danger."

"Then why are you being so difficult?"

Ianto bit his tongue to prevent unpleasant words from coming out. He didn't want to get into an argument. Taking a deep breath, he tried to find a more decent way to explain his feelings. "Jack, I want a little bit of my independence back. I'm not trying to be difficult, honestly, but I barely do anything around here in the hub because of the baby, and now I'm starting to feel the limitations pressing down on me. I don't want to sit on my arse all day, and that's what's starting to happen."

"You make coffee. That's a huge contribution to our team."

"I'm serious." Ianto crossed his arms. "I worked hard to be a part of this team, to be more than the tea-boy. I don't want to go back to that."

"I'm not demoting you, Ianto." Jack cupped his cheek. "I want you safe."

Ianto closed his eyes, forcing himself not to nuzzle into Jack's hand. "I want to be safe, too, but I don't want to be trapped here." He reopened his eyes. "And I'm not stupid, so let's compromise."

Jack looked wary. "How?"

"Watch me on the CCTV, from the moment I step out of the hub and all the way to the cleaners and back. I will even have my comm with me as well." Jack opened his mouth but Ianto added, "And the moment I see her I'll keep a careful distance. I won't engage. I'll do nothing until you come rescue me, my Captain."

Jack's lips slightly twitched at Ianto's dramatic sigh when he spoke the last two words. It stroked Jack's ego to be the hero, something everyone at Torchwood knew, and when Ianto was in the mood, he would soften his voice to make it sound more vulnerable so Jack could feel powerful and protective. Ianto sometimes did it to seduce, other times to manipulate. Today it was the latter.

Jack studied him for several seconds before he muttered something Ianto didn't understand, but in a louder voice he said, "Fine. I don't like it, and if you get hurt I'll kill you, but fine. I'll be watching the CCTV and your comm better be on the moment you leave the hub." Jack's eyes suddenly brightened. "In fact . . ." He turned away and walked to the vault behind his desk. He opened it and extracted a gold headband. "Wear this."

Ianto stared at it. "You have got to be kidding me."

"It's alien technology used primarily by the Mikaje, an alien race that will become the leading race in technology. It senses your emotions, and when you feel threatened or in danger, an invisible barrier surrounds you. It's the best defense weapon, rarely anyone can get through the barrier." Jack angled the headband. "Of course, this particular one belonged to royalty. It was confiscated in the 1930s by a prince who came through the rift." He held it out to Ianto. "Wear it."

Ianto ignored it. The phone once more stopped ringing. "I will look absolutely ridiculous wearing that."

"Nah." Jack approached him and placed the headband on his head, adjusting it while Ianto glared at him. "There. Stunning."

Ianto turned to stare at himself in the glass's reflection. The band was thick with a zigzag insignia on the front, right on his forehead. "I look _ridiculous_." Even more so with his suit. He turned to his lover, ready to fight him on this. "Jack—"

"It's this or you wait for one of us to go with you." The phone started ringing for a third time. Jack smirked. "And like you said, we have things to do."

Ianto glowered, but he stiffened his spine and spun on his heel, leaving the office.

"Don't forget your scarf," Jack called before he answered the phone. "Prime Minister! How lovely to hear from you again."

When Ianto reached the main hub, Gwen briefly glanced in Ianto's direction from her workstation before she did a double-take. She snorted and slapped a hand over her mouth as he stomped his way past her. "What in the world are you wearing?"

"Something stupid."

Ianto grabbed his essentials, making sure to grab his scarf and securing it around his neck as he stalked out of the hub. He lifted part of the scarf so just enough fabric covered his mouth and nose. It wasn't particularly cold outside (in fact, the sun was out to grace Wales with its presence) but with his immune system still weak and Terry figuring out a solution to the whole immune-system-is-trying-to-kill-baby problem, Ianto was more susceptible to viruses than usual. Common colds wouldn't necessarily be a danger when one was pregnant, but as Terry liked to remind him constantly, Ianto's pregnancy was an unusual one. It was unclear how his pregnancy would respond to viruses, and no one wanted him to take a risk and find out. The phrase "better safe than sorry" was becoming their motto. The scarf was his barrier to any germs that attempted to take a trip into his body.

With the sun still in the sky, he knew the gold headband was reflecting the sunrays, and he flushed with embarrassment when several people he passed by on the street squinted or raised their arms to block the glare before they sought the source of it. He got stares, snickers, and some even dared to laugh as soon as they saw him. Ianto was going to kill Jack.

The five minutes it took to reach the drycleaners did nothing to cool his ire. However, once he stepped inside the tiny building that housed the drycleaners, he made sure a polite smile was plastered on his face when he lowered his scarf for the elderly woman manning the front.

"Hello, Agnes."

Agnes gave him a smile, eyes flicking up towards the headband. "Ianto, how are you, love?"

Ianto found his polite smile becoming real at her genuine pleasure of seeing him. He had found this tiny drycleaner's almost as soon as he moved here after Torchwood London's downfall. The small drycleaners didn't attract a lot of customers, but they provided excellent service and treated every person that entered their doors like a long-time friend, particularly Agnes. Past her prime with hair that was now white and with wrinkles adorning her face, she was a sweet old lady.

"All right." Ianto took out his wallet and dug out the little ticket given to him when he dropped off the clothes. He handed it to her. "Busy with work and all that."

"Ah, yes. It took me ages to remove the blue stains on your grey suit." Agnes grabbed the ticket with an arched brow. Her eyes once more moved towards the headband. "And dare I ask why you're wearing . . . What exactly is it?"

Ianto reached up to fiddle with his despised headwear. "It's a headband. For work." Ianto gave her a grimace. "My boss made me put it on."

"Ah, I see." It was clear Agnes didn't see at all. "And what is it you do again, love?"

Ianto rocked back on his heels. "Special ops, dangerous missions. Nasty work, it is."

Agnes didn't believe him. She never did. She made a noncommittal noise before walking through a beaded curtain that led to the back of the establishment. Ianto heard soft strings of music playing from hidden speakers while he waited. His comm clicked on.

"I see you made it."

Ianto looked around the drycleaners until he found the security camera. He reached up to touch his comm. "Yes and I really hate you for making me wear this."

Jack chuckled in his ear. "I think you look adorable with it." Jack's voice lowered to a purr that nearly made Ianto shiver. "I think you should wear that in my bed tonight."

"You have too much fun taking alien technology into bed with us." Ianto turned away from the camera to hide his smile.

"What's wrong with that? Didn't you have fun with the contact lenses?"

"I didn't even know you were wearing them. If I did, I would've never let you into my bedroom."

"But you don't deny that you got a thrill out of watching yourself through my eyes when I showed you the video." Jack made a sound that was pure sin. "One of these days I'm going to convince you to wear them."

Ianto sighed. "I can only imagine what kind of answers you'll have when our child starts asking questions about sex."

"Then you best hope our kid asks _you_ what sex is."

Ianto laughed. No doubt if their child asked Jack what sex was, Jack's answer would be that sex was two bodies coming together and having lots of fun. "So I guess I'll be the one to protect our child's virtue from other boys or girls?"

"With our genes, it could be boys _and_ girls. And no, I'll give my kid the best way to get the guys and the girls. I know all the tricks."

"Oh, is that how you—"

She was standing right in front of him, inside the drycleaners. The little girl. Startled, he backpedalled until his back hit the counter. He glanced over his shoulder to see if Agnes had returned, but it was still empty behind the counter.

"Ianto?"

Ianto lifted his hand to touch his comm again. "You said the headband worked. Why don't I see anything protecting me?" He grabbed his gun from the holster on his waist.

There was a lengthy pause. "She's there, isn't she?" There were some muttered curses. "The barrier is invisible. You won't see it. She gets close, it will zap her." Jack shouted Gwen's and Terry's names. "We're coming."

Ianto released his comm to use both hands to hold his gun. She didn't look scared. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Why do you keep following me?"

She smiled that _knowing_ smile that said she knew something. "For the experiment." Her eyes moved from his face down to his stomach area. "The baby is doing well."

Ianto's eyes widened. She knew he was pregnant. Not exactly something he wanted to hear. And her voice, it sounded far too mature for a little girl to have. "How do you know that? _Who are you_?"

"You may call me Ichtaca." Her eyes never left his stomach. "I'm the reason why you're pregnant."

Ianto's gun didn't waver. "You're the reason this is possible?"

Where the fuck was Jack? Ianto regretted his brief stand for independence, and no doubt Jack was beating himself up for letting him go on his own. But why hadn't Jack known she was in the drycleaners with him?

She took a step forward, and Ianto pressed himself even more tightly against the counter. "Stay away from me." He cocked his gun. "Or I will kill you."

Ichtaca laughed. It wasn't sinister, just simple amusement. "My sweet boy, I promise that I have no desire to harm you. It would cost me my life to bring you or your child harm."

"Then what do you want from me?"

"I want to take a closer look, to see if the hypothesis is holding. We've been waiting for so long." She took another step. "Observations are easier to note when I'm closer."

"I said stay away from me!" He pulled the trigger, releasing a warning shot.

A sharp scream made Ianto glance over his shoulder, and he discovered a shocked Agnes standing by the beaded curtain. He quickly looked back, but the little girl wasn't there. The door to the drycleaners crashed open and Agnes screamed again as Jack, Gwen, and Terry filed inside the drycleaners, brandishing their weapons.

_Bloody hell_.

Ianto lowered his weapon as Jack looked at him. "You all right? Where is she?"

"I'm all right and she isn't here."

"Ianto?" Agnes nearly screeched.

He turned around and gave her his best soothing smile. "I'm sorry, it seems a mission has got a bit out of hand."

"M-Mission?" A hand was at her chest and she looked close to having a heart attack.

Jack stepped beside him and smiled at Agnes. "I'm sorry, ma'am. We didn't mean to scare you, and I promise we'll explain everything, but you look like you could use a cup of water. Do you have some?"

"In the back." Agnes still looked shaken. Her eyes were wide while she looked at them, as if they were an extinct species that had suddenly been resurrected and had decided to raid her little place.

"Terry?" Jack prompted.

Terry holstered his weapon. "On it."

While Terry guided Agnes towards the back where he would probably retcon her, Jack and Gwen took Ianto outside. Jack held him by the shoulders. "Tell me what happened."

"She came out of nowhere. I turned around and there she was, looking at me. I asked her who she was, what she wanted, and then she said—" Ianto knew Jack wasn't going to like this. "Jack, she knows I'm pregnant."

Jack's jaw clenched.

Gwen looked worried. "But how?"

"I don't know how she knows, but that isn't all she said." As Ianto reported the rest of their conversation, Jack looked both worried and determined.

"I didn't see her. She didn't appear in the security camera." Jack ran a hand through his hair, agitation beginning to show in his jerky movements. "One minute I was checking out your ass—" Ianto rolled his eyes. "—and the next minute you were plastered against the counter and holding your gun."

Gwen was tapping away on her PDA. "There is no match on any alien or alien race with the name Ichtaca."

"Maybe she isn't alien. Not completely, anyway. She looks human."

"She has to be alien, or at least her DNA must be partly alien." Jack opened the SUV's door to the backseat. "Only way to explain the gold eyes and her ability to come and go right in front of you." Ianto slipped into the SUV and Jack surprised him by slipping in next to him. "Gwen, you'll drive. We'll wait for Terry."

As Jack closed the door, Ianto said, "She's watching me. Observing me. But she doesn't want to hurt me or the baby. What is it she wants?"

Jack shook his head, clearly unable to give an answer. "You and baby are important, I know that much." Jack's eyes turned serious. "If she's responsible for your pregnancy, I want to know how."

Ianto wanted to know, too. He had given up ever figuring it out, but now that an explanation was in reach, he wanted it. More than an explanation, he wanted to know why this happened to him, if he was specifically chosen or if he was chosen at random.

He began to pull at his leather bracelet in an attempt to release the tension, snapping it against his skin.

Jack was quick to notice his movements. "It's going to be okay," he murmured, removing the headband and running his fingers through Ianto's hair.

"Will it?" Ianto whispered. Clearly this was bigger than him and the baby, and Ianto suddenly felt unsafe being out in the open. His earlier call for independence seemed foolish now.

Gwen and Terry entered the vehicle. "Agnes was retconned and I found this on the floor. I'm assuming it's yours."

Terry passed a few plastic bags to Ianto. His suits. He forgot about them. The fabric was probably wrinkled, but he could smooth them out later. There were a few more important matters to attend to.

The drive to the hub was quick, and while Jack did his best to sooth Ianto's rattled nerves, he wasn't that successful. Ianto was too tense, too jittery to appreciate the fingers in his hair and the occasional soft murmur that Jack would protect him. Ianto didn't want protection, he wanted bloody answers.

It wasn't that Ianto wasn't grateful for the baby inside of him. Despite his initial reaction of wanting to terminate it, he was now looking forward to a brighter future, especially with Jack's change of heart about the pregnancy. Ianto feared the baby even as his love for it grew, but it wasn't the effect that he had the issue with, it was the cause. He hadn't been given a choice about this whole situation, hadn't received any warning or clue that this was going to happen. His body wasn't made for this. His _life_ wasn't made for this. Why did it have to happen to him? What made him so special?

When they reached the hub and stepped through the cogwheel, a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Was there any hint of a rift spike when Ichtaca appeared at the drycleaners?"

Jack went to a computer and checked. "A very tiny spike. Almost too tiny to detect if I wasn't looking for it." A map appeared on the screen, and six tiny red dots suddenly appeared in the location of the dry cleaners. "Well, fuck."

"What does that mean?" Terry asked. "What are the red dots?"

"I brought up the coordinates for the rift spike matching hers. This is definitely the drycleaners, but . . ." Jack pointed at the six dots. "It's telling me the spike belongs to six of them."

"Are they all Ichtaca's?" Gwen asked.

Jack typed in a few commands, and time stamps appeared by the dots. "Unless she can be at six places at once, no. They all appeared at the exact same time, right down to the second." Jack stared at the screen and typed a few more keys. The dots vanished.

"Where did they go?"

"I want to see if I can catch another rift spike connected to her teleportation. Maybe it'll give us an idea of where she went after she teleported out of the drycleaners."

"Clearly she's not in Cardiff," Ianto said.

"No." As Jack continued to type, the map zoomed out to show all of Wales, then of the UK, and finally the world. No red dots. "Wherever she teleported, there was no rift activity on earth."

"Which means what?" Terry asked.

"It means wherever she is, it's not on earth." Ianto pulled away to pace. "So if there were five others along with Ichtaca at the drycleaners, does that mean that she was never alone whenever I saw her?"

"Only one way to find out." Jack brought up more windows on the screen. Ianto walked up behind him to peer over his shoulder. A list of coordinates and timestamps appeared. "Do you remember the general dates of when you saw her, Ianto?"

Ianto took a minute to remember, and rattled off the dates for Jack. A few of those on the list were highlighted. "Are those the days I saw her?"

"Yep, but look." He pointed at the highlighted items. "This one has four separate coordinates." He pointed to another. "And this one has three." He pointed to a third. "This is when the Wendigo attacked. Six separate coordinates matching the rift spike that belongs to Ichtaca."

"So I'm being watched by more than one, but not always by all of them at the same time."

Gwen chewed on her lip. "What about the others on the lists? Do those belong to Ichtaca as well?"

Jack nodded. "Yep."

Ianto narrowed his eyes at the screen. "But I don't remember seeing her on those dates."

"She's always watching," Terry murmured, catching Ianto's attention. "Just because you don't see her, doesn't mean she's not there. Or the others, for that matter."

"But why is she the only one showing herself? And why now?"

Jack seemed to be mulling over the questions. Eventually, he said, "Maybe she's the only one who you noticed watching you. Ten year old girl, all alone, and you wouldn't have even noticed the golden eyes if it wasn't for the Wendigo coming after you. Plus, you kept saying that you recognized her from somewhere. That's why she stuck out to you more." Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto's shoulder and began to lead him to the couch. "The others might seem more normal, more blended in. Maybe she figured that there was no point in hiding."

"Ianto," Gwen said as Jack pulled him down to sit. "Go through the conversation you had with Ichtaca. Word for word this time. Maybe that will give us more clues about her, maybe something you missed."

This was Gwen the copper. Ianto had seen her take this role of constable before. He repeated the conversation for her benefit, easily remembering each word she spoke. When he was done, he was glad he was sitting down because he suddenly felt tired. He laced his fingers over his stomach, rubbing the slight curve with his thumbs.

Terry was the first to speak. "Experiment, hypothesis, and observe. Interesting choice of words," he mused.

Gwen frowned. "Why?"

"Because those are scientific terms. Who else talks like that except scientists? Or at least people who've taken multiple science classes." He waved in the general direction of the medical bay. "Like me. I have a question, I come up with a hypothesis, I create an experiment, I observe, and I take notes."

"So Ichtaca's a scientist?"

Terry shrugged. "Can't be too sure, but that's my best bet, and if I'm right, the other five who seem to follow her might be part of her scientific team." He looked down at the pair sitting on the couch. "And if she is a scientist, there's no way she'll want to stay away from her subject. She'll want to see if her experiment proves her hypothesis right or wrong."

Great. Terry was essentially telling him that Ichtaca wasn't going anywhere, and that she'll most likely try to make contact again like she did earlier that day. "Okay, so the question is, what's the hypothesis?"

"No." Jack rubbed his jaw. "The bigger question is, what's the purpose of the experiment? Why make a man pregnant in the first place?"

"Is it possible she's done this before?" Gwen turned to Terry. "Scientists experiment a lot, right? So who's to say that this is her first experiment?"

Jack got off the couch and returned to the computer. Ianto watched from his spot. "What are you doing?"

"Going back, seeing how many of these rift spikes pop up."

It didn't take long. Ianto was nibbling on a piece of toast Terry was kind enough to bring him when Jack cursed. That can't be good. "What's wrong?"

Jack turned away from the computer to look at him. "They've been here for a while, Ichtaca and her little friends. Or at least her species has. They date all the way back to when Torchwood Three was first established. They've probably been here before then."

"But there haven't been any stories about pregnant men," Gwen pointed out.

"Not true, there was that transgendered man in America who became pregnant," Ianto mentioned.

"Not the same." Gwen placed her hands on her hips. "Wouldn't we have known of other pregnant men?"

"Remember what she said." Ianto waited until she looked at him. "She waited for so long."

"Ianto's pregnancy is the first successful experiment." Jack ran both of his hands through his hair, his frustration clear.

"So far." Terry was walking back from the kitchenette, a cup of tea in his hands. He handed it to Ianto, who accepted it with a murmur of thanks. "If I were a scientist who wanted to find a way to get a man pregnant, my experiment wouldn't be considered a success until the baby was born, alive and healthy, otherwise what's the point?"

Ianto sipped his tea, focusing inward while the others began to throw around ideas of what the whole point of making him pregnant was. Much like the toast, the tea failed to settle his distress or nerves about the situation. It really didn't seem fair that this was happening to him. Why couldn't it happen to Jack? The captain was used to pregnant men. Ianto was simply floundering. Buying looser clothes, eating things he never would have eaten before, it was all so unusual, and while a part of him accepted the situation, it didn't erase the fact that it was all wrong.

When he finished his tea, he placed down the empty cup. The hub suddenly felt stifling. "Jack."

Their conversation ceased. Jack sat on the coffee table in front of him. "What do you need?"

"To go home."

Jack hesitated. "After what happened today—"

"No, come with me. I don't think she'll bother me with you there." Ianto noticed that Ichtaca had chosen to appear when Ianto had been by himself, which meant that for whatever reason, Ichtaca didn't want to deal with Ianto if he was with someone else. "Please."

Jack studied him before nodding. "All right, let's get you home."

* * *

><p>"Ianto."<p>

Ianto continued to furiously scrub at the plate. Jack leaned against the fridge, concerned at Ianto's chosen outlet to release the emotions that have been building up inside him since Ichtaca's appearance in the drycleaners earlier that day.

He had thought that Ianto's wish to be taken home was so he could relax. Instead, the moment they had walked inside, Ianto had commenced a cleaning spree: washing, dusting, wiping, drying, and vacuuming. Jack could almost see the stress built up inside of him, which worried him. Stress and pregnancy did not mix well, but it seemed that the information they learned earlier from Ichtaca was too much for Ianto to handle, to the point that he forgot that stress wasn't good for his delicate pregnancy.

Jack had suggested he lie down and relax, but Ianto had blatantly ignored him. Jack didn't want to physically force him, though. Ianto hated being forced to do anything, and this pregnancy tended to make Ianto a tad violent whenever he was upset with Jack (a fact Ianto denied).

But he was running out of ideas on how to get Ianto to unwind.

"Ianto, I don't think you're supposed to scrub off the design." When Ianto didn't stop, Jack heaved a sigh as he pushed away from the fridge and risked placing his hands on Ianto's shoulders, keeping the touch light. "I know you're upset about what's going on, but cleaning the flat isn't going to change anything. It's just going to stress you out, and stress is the last thing you and the baby need."

Ianto stopped scrubbing and stared down at the plate in his hands. "I hate this," he abruptly proclaimed.

Jack didn't need clarification. "I know."

Ianto carelessly dumped the dish in his opened dishwasher—Jack was surprised it didn't shatter—before grabbing a pan from his water-filled sink. "I have enough worries. I worry about you lot, about Torchwood, about my sister and her family, I worry about a lot of things. That's what I do best, worry about everyone around me because I want everyone safe and happy, and now I worry about the baby, if it's going to be born, if it's going to have disabilities because I'm a man and not a woman. The last thing I need to worry about is this little scientist who shows up whenever she pleases."

Jack refrained from saying that he was just as worried, if not more. His lover and unborn child were a part of something much bigger and Jack wanted more than anything to figure out this growing puzzle before Ianto got hurt. That was the last thing he wanted.

"We'll figure this out."

Ianto tossed the pan in the dishwasher. It clattered and Jack swore he heard something break. It was a testament to how agitated Ianto was if he wasn't being careful with his dishes and cookware. "How? We don't even know what they are." He tossed the sponge into the sink. "Besides, she's not going to appear again with you lot always with me because I know I won't be allowed to leave the hub without one of you by my side—if I can leave at all—so how can we find out anything?"

Jack carefully turned Ianto around. He kept his hands on Ianto's shoulders, kneading the flesh and muscle. "Ianto, you won't be confined to the hub for all eternity, but I won't lie and say that we won't take extra precautions with you." Jack regretted letting Ianto sway him into letting him leave the hub on his own earlier. He understood the need to stand on one's own two feet, to be treated like an adult and not a child, but it was abundantly clear that those risks needed to be avoided from now on. "We know more than we did this morning, so we have to be careful."

Ianto swallowed. "It's getting too complicated. I wanted answers about how this happened, but I was thinking that an alien device, or even an alien, did it to me accidentally. And now I find out that it was done on purpose, that I'm someone's lab rat, an _experiment_." Ianto was starting to work himself up again.

Jack drew him into his arms, giving him soothing words. "Complications doesn't necessarily mean unsolvable. We'll figure this all out." He lowered a hand to place it on Ianto's stomach. "Do you regret this?"

Ianto shook his head. "No. I want this baby." He buried his face deeper into Jack's shoulder, holding him tight. "But I still struggle with being pregnant. I pretend that I'm okay with it, and most of the time I am. Okay with it, I mean. But on occasion I look in the mirror, see my body changing, and I panic a little. I wonder what the hell I'm doing going through with this. I think to myself that this isn't natural, that it shouldn't be happening." Ianto pulled back to look at him, his expression guilty. "And now with Ichtaca and her friends, I question my decision of keeping the baby, if maybe I should've terminated it. I don't like feeling this way, but I can't help it."

"You don't have to justify your feelings to me, Ianto." Jack rubbed Ianto's arms, feeling the cold skin. "This is new to you. I get that. It doesn't make you a bad person to have the occasional doubt. It makes you human." That seemed to settle his lover a little. "If you ever feel like you're doing the wrong thing, confide in me, or think about the good stuff whenever you think of your pregnancy."

Ianto looked down at the space between them before lifting his eyes. "I've been feeling flutters."

Jack grinned. "Yeah?"

Ianto slowly returned the grin with one of his own. "Yeah. They're weird, but then they're proof that the baby is alive. It's moving. That makes me feel okay about it. Reminds me that I'm doing the right thing."

"You're doing the right thing." Jack returned his hand to Ianto's stomach. It would be a while before he got to feel any movement, but he could wait, so long as Ianto saw the good rather than concentrating on the bad. "Peanut is moving for his daddy."

"Peanut?"

"Well, we haven't come up with any names, so I refer to the baby as peanut."

"Salted or unsalted?"

Jack burst out laughing. "Salted, definitely salted. Although, maybe we can start looking for a name. Have any in mind?"

Ianto shook his head. "I don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet. I think I want to find that out before I come up with names."

"You don't want to wait and find out until it's born?"

Another shake of the head, this one more adamant. "There are too many complications revolving around this pregnancy already. Knowing the sex of the baby will give me one simple thing to deal with."

Jack drew Ianto into his arms, wrapping his own arms around Ianto's waist. He rocked them from side to side. "We can ask Terry tomorrow to find out the sex, then. You're far along enough to find out, aren't you?"

"Terry said that he could've found out weeks ago about the sex of the baby."

"Oh?" As they swayed, Jack gently moved them out of the kitchen. "Why didn't you find out?"

"Because he wanted to wait a few weeks. This is the first time he has to be an obstetrician, and he said that even the most experienced of obstetricians get the sex wrong sometimes. He wanted to wait for the baby to be a little more developed." Ianto nuzzled Jack's neck. "And because I wanted you to be there to find out with me."

Jack frowned, carefully moving them towards the living room. "But I didn't accept the pregnancy until recently."

"I know." Ianto kissed his skin. "Didn't mean I hadn't hoped for you to change your mind."

Jack smiled and kissed Ianto's temple in gratitude.

Eventually, Ianto asked, "What are we doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're moving. Why?"

"We're dancing, actually."

"There's no music."

"You don't need music to dance."

Jack reached his destination, legs bumping into the couch. Ianto must have sensed where they ended up because he muttered, "Dancing my arse."

Jack laughed as he sat on the couch, making Ianto sit on his lap. "You need the rest. Why not stay off your feet when you don't have to be on them?"

"You and Terry are starting to sound like broken records, and I can't rest when I keep thinking about them. Ichtaca and whoever else is watching me." Ianto let his head rest on Jack's shoulder. "They want the baby, Jack. I can feel it."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's something Terry said. What's the point of the experiment if my baby isn't born alive and healthy? Whatever their purpose, they'll want my baby to see if it's okay."

Jack nuzzled Ianto's temple. "They'll probably want to see how you're holding up as well."

"I don't want them to take the baby, Jack." Ianto lifted his hand and placed a hand on his stomach. "If they take it, I don't know how I'll be able to handle not knowing where it is or what they're doing to it."

"That's not going to happen, I won't let it."

Ichtaca and her friends would have to go through him first. He would do what he had to do to protect Ianto and their baby, and if that meant whipping out the big guns and digging deep into his darker side, he'd do it.

He had done things he was ashamed to even think about now, hurt and killed for his own personal gains. Everything had been a game back then, his days filled with manipulating and bartering with those he encountered. Everyone had been a game piece on Jack's own game board. After meeting the Doctor and Rose, he had realized that he was better than that, and he has done his best to improve himself since his darker days as a conman. Jack hoped that all the good he did proved his worth. However, Jack was more than willing to don that less than pleasant persona of ruthless conman if it meant keeping his lover and baby safe.

Jack placed a hand on Ianto's stomach next to the hand Ianto left there. Jack thumbed the tiny bump. He couldn't stop touching the area, his amazement making him want to touch the evidence of his baby's growth as much as he could.

Wanting to change the subject, Jack asked, "What do you want, a boy or a girl?"

Thoughtful, Ianto was slow to answer. "A boy."

"No mini-Iantonette?" Jack tapped Ianto's nose. "She would be a heartbreaker."

"And would give me grey hairs." Ianto frowned. "I wouldn't know what to do with a daughter, what she would need or how I would answer any questions that only another female could know. A boy will be easy." He eyed Jack. "Well, with him having half your genes he might turn out to be a handful."

Jack gave a mock pout. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ianto grinned. "Figure it out." He put his head back down on Jack's shoulder. "What do you want?"

"I wouldn't mind either gender. I just want Salted Peanut to be healthy."

"Salted Peanut? Are you seriously going to call our baby a legume?"

"Just until you come up with a name. I'm getting tired of referring to it as, well, 'it.'"

Ianto laughed. Jack cupped Ianto's jaw and lifted his head just enough to capture his lips.

Ianto shuddered but didn't hesitate in responding. Jack kept it slow, wanting the sexual tension to build and simmer. Jack used to love it fast and hard all the time, spreading every woman's and man's—and alien's—legs, taking whatever they had to offer, but over the years he had garnered an appreciation for the art of seduction, the pleasure in taking things slow and letting the sexual tension simmer for a while before it boiled in a rush of heat.

Jack slithered his arms under Ianto's legs and back before standing up with his lover in his arms.

"Jack!" Ianto shouted, clutching at his shoulders. "What are you doing? Put me down!"

"I'm carrying you to the bedroom, and no."

"You're going to drop me." Ianto squirmed.

"I will if you don't hold still."

"I'm not a woman, I don't need you carrying me like a bride." Ianto did stop squirming, letting Jack carry him without struggle.

"And I'm well aware you aren't a woman, especially when I had your cock in my mouth not too long ago." Jack smirked at the flush of red that rode high on Ianto's cheeks as he reminded him of the blow job given in the Archives before the whole Ichtaca debacle happened. Ianto tried to deny it, but Jack was sure his young lover enjoyed it whenever Jack surprised him in the Archives for a quick tryst. "I'm carrying you because I want to. Doing something couple-y."

"Couple-y?" Ianto blinked in surprise as Jack gently lowered him on the bed. "As in you and me? A couple?

Jack nodded, leaning down and planting his hands on either side of Ianto's head. "I believe that's the proper term to apply to a relationship involving two people who have been together for well over a year."

It was a little difficult to really pin down an accurate length of time that they've been together, since the start of their relationship had been based more on sex. They really started dating after Jack's year-long trip on the Valiant, a year that no longer existed on their timeline and one that Ianto knew only because Jack told him about it (Jack had never known if Ianto had died during that year, not when the Master had tended to play with Jack's mind by telling him one day that his team was dead, and then the next day telling him that they were on the run, and on occasion telling him that they were on the Valiant being tortured as well).

Right before the events that started with the earth moving, and to ease an hour in which he found himself bored, Jack had sat down and made his calculations, ultimately deciding that his relationship with Ianto started after his return and that anything before that didn't count. It was during that bored hour that Jack had realized that Ianto was more important to him than he had initially realized, considering that he had been trying to calculate a length of time to stamp their relationship with.

"But you don't like labels." Ianto seemed completely confused.

"We're going to be labelled as fathers in a few months, Ianto. Can't avoid labels that are already there."

"Oh." Ianto blinked again. "So does this make us boyfriends?" Ianto's tone was filled with curiosity. He sounded like a dumbfounded student who had just received an unusual perspective of the world he lived in.

Jack hesitated. While the term boyfriend was the proper one in this century, it sounded almost juvenile for a man who has lived for well over a century (well over a millennia, if one counted the time he spent buried under Cardiff). Jack never referred to and was never referred as someone's boyfriend.

"Let's use partners," Jack decided. "Committed partners."

Ianto's eyes got huge. "Committed partners?"

Jack did his best to keep eye contact despite the growing discomfort deep in his gut. The conversation they were about to have was big, and that made Jack want to squirm. "Yes, committed partners."

"But you don't do commitment. You said that when we first had sex."

"But we weren't really together during that time, were we?" With a huff, Jack sat up. He grabbed Ianto's hands and pulled, helping him into a sitting position. "I meant what I said the other day, when I told you that you're the only one. I've never cheated on you with anyone, and I don't plan to." The occasional fantasy did not count as infidelity in Jack's book, especially when he knew that Ianto possessed fantasies of his own that didn't include Jack. "And I'm pretty sure you haven't been with anyone other than me, have you?"

Ianto looked mildly insulted. "Of course I haven't. I don't have time to go out with anyone, let alone find the time to have sex with a proper man or woman." He tilted his chin, a haughty expression on his face. "I have standards that list more than just beauty."

Jack grinned, not at all insulted by the insinuation that he did not, because frankly, he didn't. Before Ianto, beauty was all that mattered to Jack when he had wanted a one-night stand.

"Not to mention," Ianto continued, "that I'm currently pregnant. Puts a damper on having sex with anyone else."

Becoming serious again, Jack said, "Look, I'm not saying we're going to be the most conventional of couples, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you." Jack paused and squeezed Ianto's hands. "And if I ever do, I swear I'll find a way back."

Ianto released a shaky breath. "Committed partners." He nodded slowly. "I can handle that."

"Good." He cupped Ianto's face between his palms. "Now let's never have this kind of conversation again, okay?"

Ianto laughed, the noise as shaky as the breath he released earlier. "No, I don't think there is any need for a repeat of this."

The smile on Ianto's face spoke volumes of what this conversation did for him, as did the sudden lunge from Ianto, who wrapped his arms around Jack's neck and kissed him intensely. Jack was caught off-guard, but he was quick to respond.

Well hell, if acknowledging what they were got this sort of reaction out of the man, Jack should've done it ages ago. As uncomfortable as the conversation had been for him, clearly it made Ianto feel better about their relationship. Perhaps now some of the insecurities Ianto had about them would disappear.

"In all honesty," Ianto murmured against his lips, "I didn't think boyfriends would have suited us."

Jack laughed, the sound husky. "Partners sound better." He kissed him again, pushing Ianto back down on the bed. He grabbed Ianto's wrist, and the feel of leather made Jack grin into Ianto's mouth. The leather bracelet was still being worn. Every time he saw it or touched it, it turned him on. When Ianto moaned, Jack pulled back. "That sounds pretty good, too."

Ianto bucked his hips upwards, brushing their groins together. "Stop talking and fuck me."

Well, who was he to argue? Jack grinned and did as told.

* * *

><p>Ianto was seriously considering doing something about the medical bay's ceiling. He saw it so often nowadays that the cracks were starting to irk him.<p>

"Ready, Ianto?"

He looked away from the ceiling and nodded at Terry. "Yeah."

Ianto exchanged a smile with Jack, who stood by him holding his hand. Gwen stood by the stairs, giving him her own tiny smile. Ianto looked back at the monitor, the ceiling's imperfections retreating to the darkest corners of his mind while excitement filled the air.

It was a big moment, much bigger than Ianto had anticipated. When the pregnancy had first been discovered, none of them had thought the foetus would make it this far, but Ianto was now midway through his second trimester and the baby's gender was about to be revealed. This was a nice distraction to all the worries that were attached to Ichtaca and her unknown plans.

"Now I could be wrong," Terry said, stirring Ianto out of his musings, "but I'm pretty sure that's not a thumb in between its legs."

A boy. Ianto wanted to pump his fist in the air. He would have been pleased if the baby was a girl, but the discovery was all that sweeter knowing that he was having a boy.

"A mini-Ianto," Jack breathed. Then he laughed, the sound happy before he leaned down and planted a kiss on Ianto's forehead.

"Or a mini-Jack."

"Oh God, just what we need, another Jack roaming around." Gwen hugged Jack to dispel any hint of heat in her voice before hugging Ianto. "Congratulations." She pulled back. "Any names on the horizon?"

"Salted Peanut."

Ianto rolled his eyes at Jack's words. "She's talking about real names, Jack." He looked at her. "Not yet. I wanted to know what the baby was before choosing names."

"What about a last name?" Terry printed out a few copies of the scan, handing one to Ianto, one to Jack, and even one to Gwen. Despite the fact that the baby biologically belonged to him and Jack, in some way the baby also belonged to the entire team. They were family, and the baby was a nice addition to it. "Is it going to be Jones, Harkness, or both?" Terry asked.

"Jones-Harkness."

"Really?" Jack's eyebrows shot up, obviously surprised. "I thought you would give him just your last name."

Ianto sat up, buttoning his shirt. "Jones is too common by itself, and the baby is part yours, so it makes sense to give him both of our last names."

"But Harkness isn't my real last name."

"It isn't?" Terry asked. Gwen shushed him.

Ianto stared at Jack. "You're Jack Harkness to me. I want my baby to have your last name."

Jack's eyes softened. "Jones-Harkness it is, then."

Shirt buttoned, Ianto slid off the medical table. "Besides, we should just concentrate on finding a first name rather than fight about his last name."

Ianto was in the process of slipping on his waistcoat when Terry waved his fingers to grab his attention. "Before you go, I want you to drink this." He handed him a small cup of red liquid.

Ianto frowned down at it. "What is this?"

"This is going to fool your immune system into thinking your baby is another organ."

"Explain."

"It's my own little mixture. Whatever you eat and drink eventually makes its way to the baby, so once you drink that, it'll end up in the foetus. Simply put, it will make your baby seem non-threatening to your body."

"So my immune system will no longer attack the baby."

Terry shook his head. "Nope. It's going to leave it—him—alone."

Ianto was relieved. He downed the liquid. "Now what?"

"Give it a couple of hours to take effect, and then come back. I'll give you a shot to boost your immune system back to its normal strength."

Another thing he didn't have to worry about, which certainly made room for his thoughts to settle on other matters. Like where he was going to live.

His flat was a one-bedroom, which suited Ianto just fine when it was just him. But with a baby on its way, Ianto needed to consider the idea of moving. There were still a few months on his lease, which didn't pose too much of a problem. An infant wouldn't take much room, giving Ianto plenty of time to figure out what he wanted to do.

Ianto was also giving the idea of hiring an assistant some serious thought. His duties would be split once the baby arrived, giving him less time to work in the Archives. Hiring an assistant of sorts would certainly ensure that the Archives continued to be organized even without Ianto's full attention.

As they left the medical bay, Ianto's thoughts were derailed when Gwen said, "I've been doing a few searches and I think I found something."

Jack and Ianto followed her to her computer. "What did you find?" Jack asked.

"Reports of men who go missing for exactly two months. All of them are returned to the exact same spot they were seen last. The interesting thing is that a lot of them claim they were taken by aliens."

"So? A lot of people claim they were taken by aliens."

Ianto agreed. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"How about the fact that a lot of those who talked to the media claimed that the aliens were trying to get them pregnant?"

Okay, so maybe Gwen's discovery had merit. "Really?"

Gwen nodded and brought up images of old newspaper clippings on the computer's screen. "A lot of them also had similar marks on their bodies that they didn't have before they had gone missing. The most common among them was a scar across their stomachs." She typed on the keyboard. "Now, I cross referenced the times of when these men were taken with the rift spikes that Jack brought up yesterday." The red dots appeared with time stamps. "If you look at the dates, you can see that the coordinates of the last time the man was seen match the coordinates of the rift spike that matches Ichtaca and her friends. And for the two months they were gone, no matching rift spikes, not until the man was brought back."

Jack glanced at Ianto. "They took the men somewhere. Spaceship probably, unless they can teleport to very far distances."

"But they didn't take me." Ianto subconsciously caressed his stomach. "Why not?"

"Previous experiments fail, they find a new way, and it turns out that they don't need to kidnap you to accomplish it."

"I'm going to see if I can find all the men," Gwen murmured. "According to the newspapers, these date back all the way to the 1920s. I'll see who's still alive, and maybe we can ask them some questions."

"What good will that do?" Ianto asked.

"To glean information." Gwen wrapped an arm around his waist, using a hand to rub his stomach. "The more we know what we are up against, the better we can protect the little one. This lead might give us something."

"Good work, Gwen." She smiled under Jack's praise. "Run with it. Keep me updated on what you find."

Gwen released Ianto to get to work, but before she could, the rift alarm went off. She groaned. "Looks like it has to wait."

Ianto checked the coordinates of the rift spike. "It's somewhere in the bay. Not too far off the coast."

Jack glanced at the screen. "Terry! We got some work to do."

When Jack turned to look at him and opened his mouth, Ianto said, "I know. Stay here." Even if it wasn't for Ichtaca, his pregnancy has progressed to the point where Ianto would be of little help in the field. For the past few weeks, every time the team went out, he had stayed behind and gave them any information they needed. It was something Ianto had done often during his early months of employment at Torchwood Three.

Jack nodded. "I'm going to put the hub on lockdown after I leave, okay?"

After a quick kiss on the lips, Jack ran off with Gwen and Terry.

"Well," he announced to the empty hub, "it looks like it's just you and me." Ianto smiled down at his stomach. A screech from above made him look up. He saw leathery wings flap in Myfanwy's nest. "And Myfanwy. Not a bad choice of company."

Only in Torchwood would a Pteranodon be considered good company.

* * *

><p>"How about Creighton?"<p>

"Creigh—what?" Ianto looked up from the baby book he was perusing to squint at Jack.

Jack, who held a different baby book in his hands, didn't look up. "It's Gaelic. Means near the creek."

Ianto scrunched up his nose. "No. Sounds like cretin." He returned to his own book.

The book shop was crowded, but there weren't that many patrons in the baby section, which contained a lot more reference books than Ianto had first anticipated. There were books on proper baby care, books on recommended doctors, books devoted to babies while others were devoted to toddlers. It was enough to freak Ianto out. He didn't know that there was so much information out there concerning children. Jack had reassured him that most books repeated the same thing with only a few differences, but it got Ianto wondering if those differences were important.

"Lucas."

Ianto mouthed the name, but it didn't seem to fit. He shook his head. "I don't like it."

"Brody?" He shook his head again. "Blake, I've always liked Blake. Had a one-stand with someone with that name—"

"What makes you think I'm going to name our child after your one-night stand?"

"Sorry." Jack didn't look sorry, just amused. "How about you tell me what you want to name our kid. You've shot down every single name I've suggested."

"It's not an easy task, Jack. The name needs to be perfect, and it has to fit with Jones-Harkness."

"Blake goes with Jones-Harkness."

"We're not naming him after your one-night stand."

Jack grinned, which told Ianto that he was riling him up on purpose. Poking the bear. One of these days Ianto was going to bite and not in the way Jack liked him to.

"So?" Jack prompted, closing his book and sidling up to Ianto's side. "Any names you like?"

Ianto returned his gaze to the names on the page, feeling slightly overwhelmed. There were so many to choose from, so many origins, and so many categories. Top ten names for boys, celebrity names, names of politicians, unique names, common names, all sorts of names. He wanted his baby to grow up with a name that couldn't be made fun of, that wasn't shared with dozens of others, and that made his child stand out, but so far there were no names he was particularly excited about or were memorable.

"Not yet," he finally answered. He closed the book and tucked it under his arm. "Let's go, I'm hungry."

"Poor little guy." They walked towards the counter. "He's going to go through life with the name Salted Peanut." Jack brightened. "That's not a bad name. Salted Peanut Jones-Harkness."

He hit Jack's arm. "I'm going to find a name I like. I have time."

"You have to admit, Salted Peanut is a lot better than the names some parents give their children."

Considering the number of species roaming around in the universe, Salted Peanut could definitely be considered a better name than the names that some aliens have. At least Salted Peanut could be pronounced.

When they reached the counter, the cashier smiled at them both, though Ianto was quick to notice how her eyes strayed to Jack. Ianto was used to it and he simply ignored it when she batted her eyelashes. He wasn't surprised by her attempt to be coy. Every woman—and a few men—batted their lashes at Jack.

What did surprise Ianto was when Jack smiled at her _politely_. Politely and detached. Jack didn't do polite and detached smiles. He did seductive grins and flirty smirks. What floored Ianto even more was that when the cashier began to flirt with him, Jack didn't respond. This was perhaps the first time Ianto stood witness to Jack Harkness _not_ pulling out his flirty games. There was never a time in Ianto's memory when Jack didn't respond to flirtation. It was almost like Jack couldn't help some sort of instinctive response to flirt back. Hell, even during a crisis, Jack found time to flirt with anyone beautiful, and the cashier was certainly beautiful. It made Ianto feel a bit self-conscious about his emerging belly when he took in her tiny waistline. He forced himself not to hunch in order to conceal his stomach.

Despite her best efforts, the cashier couldn't seem to incite more than a polite smile out of Jack. Once the book was paid for and the bag was handed over, they left a disappointed and pouting cashier behind.

"I think you broke her heart."

Jack chuckled. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Ianto gave him a side-long glance. "Why didn't you flirt with her? Or at the very least comment on her breasts. She was practically shoving them in your face."

"I don't flirt with everyone I meet." Ianto stared at him in disbelief. "Okay, okay, I do."

"So why not her?"

Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto's shoulders. "I find it in bad taste to flirt with someone else in front of the man who's pregnant with my baby."

Well, that was very . . . unlike Jack. "You know I don't mind, right? That you flirt with other people?"

"You sure?" Jack gave him a knowing smile.

Ianto flushed slightly. Apparently he hadn't hidden his moments of jealousy as clearly as he would've liked. He persevered, though. "You can flirt with anyone you like. I don't mind." At least, not anymore.

After getting verbal confirmation that Jack was committed to him, Ianto felt a little better about Jack's flirtatious ways. He still didn't like it, but he now saw Jack's flirtation as nothing more than an amusing game, something Jack did for entertainment purposes and, when the occasion called for it, to extract vital information. Ianto felt that he could even come to accept the touches that were usually the source of his jealousy. So long as he knew that Jack respected their relationship, Ianto could learn to get used to it.

"If you say so." Jack gave him a soft smile. "But I gave myself a bit of a rule to not flirt in front of you while you're pregnant."

"Don't worry about it, you can flirt with whoever you want."

Jack looked at him curiously. "Why are you being so insistent? Most people would be glad to hear that their partners wouldn't be flirting around them while pregnant."

Ianto bit his lip. Jack had a point. Ianto should be happy that Jack would cease flirting with others in his presence, but Jack was Jack. Ianto had known what he was getting into when he had accepted Jack's request for a date. The immortal was a flirt, it was a part of him, and Ianto didn't want this pregnancy to force Jack to change into someone he wasn't, and while he appreciated Jack's gesture, it made him feel slightly guilty, like he was making Jack do this.

"I'm used to it," Ianto said. "To see you not flirt would be odd and completely unnatural. Disturbing, even."

"Well, I—"

Ianto flinched and put a hand on the side of his stomach. "Whoa."

"What is it?" Jack's eyes were wide with concern, stopping in front of him in the middle of the pavement. "Is it the baby?"

Ianto shushed him when Jack's voice rose a little too high for Ianto's comfort, considering they were in the middle of the street. He looked around, but he was relieved when he spotted no passerby gaping at them in astonishment.

"Beer belly, remember?" Ianto straightened and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's nothing, the baby is just a bit active."

Active, indeed. The baby had decided to kick, but it looked like the baby was stronger now because these weren't the light flutters he had grown accustomed to over the last couple of weeks. It didn't hurt, but it was strong enough to startle him a bit.

Ianto blinked and then grinned. He quickly grabbed Jack's hand and led him down the street.

"Ianto, what—?"

Ianto found an alley and tugged Jack further into the empty space. He parted his coat and placed Jack's hand on his stomach. "Wait for it."

He knew Jack has been waiting to feel the baby move, and Ianto was almost sure . . .

Ten seconds later, the baby kicked. Jack's eyes widened slightly. "Did I just—?"

"Feel the baby kick?" Ianto nodded, feeling a little smug. "Yes, I believe you did."

Jack looked amazed. "Fucking hell." His voice was full of awe.

When the baby kicked again, Ianto said, "That would be your son trying to get our attention."

"Salted Peanut has a hearty kick." Jack placed both hands on his stomach, looking as excited as any kid would on Christmas morning. For Jack, it probably was Christmas. Every time Ianto mentioned the baby moving, Jack had placed his hand on his belly, hoping to feel it only to look disappointed when he felt nothing. Now Jack's eyes were sparkling. "Damn, this is so fucking cool."

Jack used one hand to grasp the back of Ianto's neck. "Now tell me, why would I want to flirt with anyone in front of the man who's giving me this?" The hand on his belly told him what Jack was referring to. "I care more about you and the baby than two minutes of flirting with a stranger."

Ianto cupped Jack's cheeks. "You don't have to change."

"I'm not, I'm just amending my habits a little. I'll still be the dashing Captain Jack Harkness we all know and love." Jack lowered his gaze to stare at Ianto's stomach. "But there are more important things I need to think about nowadays."

Ianto's heart stuttered just a little.

His gaze drifted over Jack's shoulder and he stiffened. "Jack."

Jack looked up, but when he saw where Ianto was looking he swiftly turned around.

Ichtaca stood across the street, but there was no mistaking that she was looking at them. People passed her by, but no one seemed to notice that a ten year old girl was standing there all by herself.

When Jack took a step forward, probably intending to confront her, she disappeared.

"Likes to watch but doesn't want a confrontation," Jack muttered.

"Not yet, maybe." Ianto couldn't help but think that she was simply biding her time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to do whatever it was she planned to do.

Jack turned to look at him with a wide smile, but it was dimmer than it had been a minute earlier. "Let's go eat, shall we? Before Salted Peanut decides to kick again."

Jack grabbed Ianto's hand as they left the alley. Normally such public displays of affection made Ianto squirm with discomfort because it wasn't something they did often, but after Ichtaca's little appearance, Ianto didn't object to the hand-holding.

And if he clung a little harder than usual, Jack didn't say a word about it.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Ianto's stomach was rounder, no longer the shape of a bump but a hill—Jack did his best to keep that little metaphor to himself—and at six-and-a-half months, Ianto seemed as adjusted as a pregnant man could be under the circumstances.

He complained constantly of aches in his back and pressure in his abdomen, which, according to Terry, was the foetus pressing against Ianto's organs. Ianto also complained of swollen feet, resulting in a new pair of shoes to wear, but perhaps the biggest complaint of all was weight gain. Jack kind of liked the extra bit on him.

The weight gain wasn't as noticeable as Ianto thought it was, but his cheeks were certainly fuller. While Ianto wasn't unhealthily thin—not like he had been during his early days in Torchwood, when Jack assumed that the stress of hiding a Cyberman in the basement contributed to a lack of an appetite—the weight gain was just another sign that everything with the baby was progressing nicely. Besides, there was a certain glow that came with the weight gain. Ianto looked healthier than ever, and Jack would rather have a healthy pregnant lover than a dangerously thin one.

Ichtaca was no longer hiding herself from them, appearing and disappearing, "observing," as she had put it. It unnerved Jack to see how easy she was able to find Ianto's location, and for that reason Jack never allowed Ianto out of his sight, not even at his lover's flat. The only place Jack felt comfortable enough to let Ianto roam freely without him at his side was in the hub, but only because Jack watched him on the CCTV.

Jack was glad that Ichtaca kept a distance from Ianto whenever she appeared, but every time Jack made even the smallest attempt to get close and pry information from her, she vanished. It wasn't unusual for him to have to play cat-and-mouse with aliens, but this was different; this involved Ianto, and Jack found the whole situation irritating. It didn't help that every time she appeared Ianto's stress levels rose, feeding his fears of their baby being taken away from them.

Jack had fixed his vortex manipulator to alert him every time one of those miniature rift spikes appeared, and for the last month or so Jack has managed to spot at least five people who always materialized when Ichtaca did. Three men and two women, watching Ianto just like Ichtaca watched him. Sometimes it was all of them, sometimes it was just a few, but Jack didn't doubt that they were part of Ichtaca's team.

Although he didn't like it, all he and Ianto could do was wait and see what Ichtaca's next move was, but Jack made sure to keep an eye on them whenever he and Ianto were out, fingers near his Webley.

* * *

><p>Jack smiled at the young lady sitting across his desk. Nia, a conspiracy theorist who didn't put much faith in the government's proclamations that all the alien sightings were hoaxes, smiled in return, though her eager eyes kept looking out into the main hub. She looked like the girl-next-door, homey and quiet, if one ignored the tattooed arms, the pierced tongue, and the Mohawk. If that wasn't enough, her record spoke of a different story. A few arrests, a stint in jail, and all of it having to do with gun possession and computer hacking. Nia loved guns, and somehow managed to get around the government to own her own gun shop until John's bombings buried it under several feet of rubble.<p>

So far, she seemed the best fit for a weapon's specialist, someone who can work with the alien weapons that were not only stored in the Archives, but that continued to be confiscated by hostile aliens that Jack and the others dealt with. Even better, Nia knew how to work with computers. She didn't exactly match Tosh's intelligence, but she knew enough for Jack. At the very least, Nia could play dual roles of weapon's specialist and computer technician until Jack found someone suitable to be their computer technician.

"So how about it, Nia?" Jack leaned back and waved his hand around to encompass the hub. "Think you can handle all this?"

"Are you kidding?" She nodded enthusiastically. "Do you know how many of my friends would die to know all this is real?"

Jack's smile vanished. "One thing you have to understand about Torchwood is that no one knows. They can speculate, they can assume, but none of it can be confirmed."

Nia looked disappointed. "How can I work here and keep it all a secret?"

"That's the price for working here." Jack leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "I'm not going to lie to you. Torchwood is a full-time job. There are always early shifts, overnight shifts, and overtime for all team members, and most of the time these shifts occur consecutively, and the chances of you living past the next five years are kind of slim. You'll deal with friendly aliens, but you'll deal with hostile aliens, or hostile humans with alien technology."

The enthusiasm was slightly dampened by his words. He could see it in her dark eyes. "Okay, so that's a lot more than I expected."

"That's only the tip of the iceberg. If you sign on to take the job, you're going to see, hear, and deal with a lot more, and a lot of it puts you in danger."

"So you send your own team members to die," she said flatly.

"No, I send them to do their jobs. They all knew the risks before I hired them."

Nia looked down at Jack's desk between them. "So what are the rewards? Why do this? Why risk my life?"

"Because you'll save lives. You'll get to see and learn about all the wonders of the universe. You'll know the truth."

Nia blinked at him. "I guess that's something." She still didn't look convinced.

Jack smirked. "You get to play with all kinds of alien guns and, if need be, you can hack into the governments' system."

The enthusiasm crept back into her eyes. "Which governments?"

"All of them."

She smiled slowly. "Well, that's all right then."

Jack spied Ianto coming up the stairs towards his office. His jacket was off, his shirt exposed, and doing nothing to hide his pregnancy. Nothing really helped hide his belly except large coats, and Ianto only wore that when he had to deal with crowds.

Jack returned his gaze to Nia. She was perfect. He had watched her on the CCTV, had traced her movements, and had hacked into her records and bank accounts. Jack knew she would fit right into Torchwood. He wanted her to work for him, but there was one test she needed to pass, and that test was in the form of Ianto.

"Torchwood is full of secrets and you'll be expected to keep each and every one of them to yourself."

Ianto entered the office, tray with a mug of coffee in his hands. Jack saw him hesitate, feet shuffling slightly behind Nia's chair, clearly nervous of showing his belly to a stranger. Jack lifted his hand, waving him to walk further into the room. Nia glanced over her shoulder and her mouth fell open.

Jack smiled at Ianto, noticing the way Nia's eyes followed his lover, focused on his round stomach. It could no longer be explained as a beer belly.

As Ianto lowered the tray on Jack's desk, Nia blurted, "What's wrong with you?"

Ianto looked a little bit peeved at Nia's blunt question and at how she openly stared. He clearly didn't like it, discomfort written all over his face.

"This is my lover, Ianto." Jack snagged Ianto's hand, drawing him close. "And there's nothing wrong with him. It just so happens that he's pregnant with my baby."

Nia looked from one to the other, incredulous and looking a bit faint. Even with her conspiracy theories, clearly this was a lot to handle. "Pregnant."

"Yep."

"As in him carrying a baby. Your baby."

"Son, to be more specific."

"And he's human?"

"He's standing right here," Ianto muttered.

"He's completely human," Jack said to Nia's question.

"And this isn't some sort of scare tactic or anything?" Nia pressed.

"I can show you a lot worse if I wanted to scare you." Jack rubbed his hand against the side of Ianto's stomach. "There are all sorts of secrets Torchwood hides, but right now this is the biggest one." Jack kept his gaze serious, making sure he had Nia's full attention. "I would be rather pissed off if it somehow leaked that my lover's pregnant, even more so if he ends up in some scientific facility."

"I'd be rather annoyed as well." Ianto was sardonic and Jack shot him a grin.

"Here's the deal. You'll be asked to do all sorts of things, some of which you might enjoy, others you might hate. I'm a lenient boss, but I'm also firm and even ruthless if need be." He slightly nudged Ianto's side. "Right now we have a bit of a situation that includes a mysterious alien and an even more mysterious plot that revolves around Ianto and the baby. We don't know what it is, but one of our priorities is making sure that Ianto's safe, and you're going to help us do that."

"How?" Nia kept glancing at Ianto's stomach. "What the bloody hell do you expect me to do?"

"Whatever I tell you. Just know that Ianto needs to be kept safe, and I won't be a happy camper if something happens to him under your watch, or if I find out you're directly responsible for him getting hurt."

Nia blinked. "This is all so surreal." Her eyes moved to Ianto's stomach once more. "And you're really pregnant? With a human baby?"

"It wasn't exactly a part of my plans, but yes. I had a bit of unwanted alien help." Ianto shrugged. "Story of my bloody life." He removed himself from Jack's side. "Do you take anything in your coffee?"

Nia shook her head. "I actually prefer tea."

Ianto nodded, but as he walked out of his office he threw Jack a slightly astonished look at Nia's preference of tea over coffee. Jack held back a laugh. He could already see Ianto planning a way to win her over.

"So if I work here, will I be his babysitter?" Nia jerked her thumb in Ianto's general direction.

"No. As he so kindly mentions to everyone, he's pregnant, not an invalid." Jack leaned back in his chair once more. He could see that Ianto's pregnancy was still spinning the wheels in Nia's mind, which was the point of asking Ianto to come in during the interview.

Ianto was a top priority and anyone he hired needed to know that. They also needed to know the consequences.

"I'll be frank, Nia," Jack continued. "Nothing is as important to me as Ianto and my unborn son. I wasn't joking when I said I would be pissed if something happens to him. If I learn that you so much as mentioned Ianto's pregnancy to a friend or a family member, or if you caused him harm in any way, I will wipe your memories all the way back to infancy."

"You can do that?" Nia sounded nervous; as well she should. Jack wouldn't retcon her that far, but the threat would serve his purpose of making sure she kept quiet.

"Baby, I can do lots of things and get away with it." Jack snagged his mug of coffee and took a long sip. He sighed in pleasure. Ianto's coffee was an orgasm in his mouth. His lover could've made a decent living owning his own coffee shop. "So, you interested in joining the team?"

"You just threatened me, and now you're asking if I want to join a team that could get me killed before I reach the age of thirty-five?"

Jack arched a brow. "Well?"

Nia only took ten seconds before she grinned wide, her eyes gleaming. "Hell yes."

Jack smiled as Ianto returned with Nia's cup of tea. "Ianto, meet your new teammate."

Ianto placed her tea in front of her. "Welcome to Torchwood."

* * *

><p>Nia stayed for another thirty minutes to fill out paperwork Ianto handed her. Employee information to put in the Torchwood files, he claimed. If it wasn't for Ianto, none of the Torchwood team would have employee files. Even Jack had one now.<p>

When she finished, Jack escorted her out of the hub, telling her to come in the following day. When he returned, Ianto was waiting for him with brows raised as he stood by the hub's couch.

"I assume there's a reason why you had her meet me and not the others."

Jack wrapped an arm around his waist, placing a hand on Ianto's stomach. "You mean besides the fact that Gwen and Terry are in London?"

U.N.I.T. had called three days prior, requesting assistance about those six-legged aliens Gwen had researched. Jack had been amused at Gwen's eagerness to go to London, and the only reason why Jack let her go was due to the rift's expected silence over the next few days. Any minor skirmishes Jack could handle on his own, and while Jack had hesitated to let Terry go—he was Ianto's makeshift obstetrician, after all—he had let him go along with Gwen so she could have some Torchwood help rather than completely rely on U.N.I.T.

"You asked me to send you coffee while she was in there," Ianto pointed out. "Why? You know I don't want to show my stomach to strangers."

"I needed to see how she would react to your pregnancy. Having conspiracy theories is all well and good, but seeing a pregnant man in the flesh is something entirely different. I needed to know if she would be able to handle this, and to let her know what happens if she decides to tell our secrets, especially this one, to any outsiders." Jack rubbed Ianto's stomach. There was firm movement under his hand. The baby was stirring, active. "And she passed the test."

"And was there a reason why Italian dishes were delivered with a note saying I was not allowed to eat any of it until a Captain Jack Harkness told me I could?"

Jack followed to where Ianto pointed, seeing a plastic bag with containers. They must have arrived while Jack was taking Nia up the invisible lift. "Perfect. And now that we are alone . . ." Jack led Ianto away from the main hub, snagging the plastic bag. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oh?" Ianto looked at him suspiciously. "What is it?"

"It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you, now would it?"

Ianto still looked suspicious, but didn't pry for more information. Jack led him to the closed doors of the boardroom. "I set this up while you were discussing the paperwork with Nia."

Jack opened the doors with a flourish.

Ianto didn't gasp, but his mouth did widen into the shape of a tiny 'o', and Jack's excitement decreased just a little as nerves twisted his insides.

The boardroom table was covered in a long white tablecloth with plates and cutlery set for two. There was a plastic bottle of ginger-ale chilling in a bucket of ice, and two white candles, already lit, gave the room a soft romantic glow. Jack wasn't one for romantic gestures (at least not conventional romantic gestures), but with Ianto's mind always on Ichtaca, the baby, or both, Jack wanted to take his mind off things for a while.

To hide his nerves, he urged Ianto towards a chair. He pulled it out. "Your seat, sir." Ianto gave a shaky laugh, but did sit down. Jack removed the containers from the plastic bag and opened them. "Your choices for tonight's dinner are as follows: cannoli with spinach and cheese, a traditional spaghetti and meatballs, or pizza." He took out a smaller container. "Garlic bread—" Ianto grimaced. "—or breadsticks." Jack winked. "Didn't forget how picky the baby is when it comes to cravings." He dug the final container out of the bag. "And for dessert, chocolate cake."

Jack poured the ginger-ale into two champagne glasses that he managed to find in the kitchenette. He handed one to Ianto before sitting down on the chair across the table from his lover. "_Bon appetite._"

Ianto looked around the table at the offerings. "Not that I don't appreciate what you've done, but why all this? What's the occasion?"

Jack snagged a couple of slices of pizzas and a cannoli. "A guy can't woo his lover?"

"I'm pregnant. I think it's too late for wooing." Despite his confusion, Ianto began to fill his plate, getting a little bit of everything. "So what's going on?" Ianto paused in his movements and narrowed his eyes at Jack. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Jack sipped at his ginger-ale. "I just wanted to do something for you. Something nice."

"Something nice?" Ianto still eyed him with that suspicious glint in his eye.

Jack sighed. "You've been stressed out about Ichtaca and the baby, and now that you're showing, you refuse to leave the flat or hub unless you truly have to. So I wanted to do something for you. Something romantic."

"Oh."

Oh, indeed. An awkward silence fell, making Jack acutely aware of his shortcomings when it came to romantic gestures. Just as he was about to squirm, Ianto's lips blossomed into a smile, one of his softer smiles where his heart clearly beat on his sleeve. It made Jack wonder if he should do these gestures more often because he liked making Ianto happy, and Jack was only now realizing that despite Ianto's claims that he didn't need to do these kinds of things, his lover enjoyed them, perhaps even more so when they were unexpected.

"Thank you," Ianto murmured.

"No thanks needed."

"No one has ever done something like this for me before."

"Not anyone?" Jack asked as he took a bite out of his pizza. "Not even, you know . . ."

"Lisa?" Ianto twirled some spaghetti around his fork. "You can say her name."

"I didn't want to mention it in case it still bothered you."

Ianto put the forkful of pasta into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before answering. "Don't worry. I grieved. I've moved on." He speared a meatball on his plate. "And no, she didn't do these things for me. I did it for her. I surprised her with a picnic on our two-month anniversary." He ate a bit of the cannoli. "It's not that I expected her to do these kinds of things for me, but it would've been nice. I don't think it ever occurred to her that I might want a romantic gesture every once in a while."

Jack concentrated on his meal for a few minutes before he said, "Maybe she didn't do anything because you never asked. You have a tendency to accept less than what you deserve and never ask for more."

Ianto arched a brow. "Is that a subtle reference to our relationship?"

Jack pointed his fork at him. "Most people would've kicked me to the curb if they went through what I put you through." Jack had never been blind to the fact that Ianto deserved more. That was why he had tried to make it up to him by asking him out on a date when he had returned from the Valiant, opening a new chapter for them.

"But I'm not most people." Ianto ate half of his pizza slice. "It's not that I don't think I deserve to be treated better. I did. I do. If you hadn't asked me out on a date, I wouldn't have let you back in my bed. I was done being your part-time shag."

Jack frowned. "I never thought of you that way."

"But you never thought of me as anything more than your bed warmer." Jack couldn't deny it, but much to his relief Ianto didn't seem upset about it. "Don't worry about it. I mean, I was the one who propositioned you."

"Why did you?" Jack asked curiously. "One would think I would be the last person you'd want to sleep with, considering what happened with Lisa." Jack referred to the Cyberman as Lisa for Ianto's benefit. In Jack's mind, Lisa had died long before she had been smuggled into the hub.

"I propositioned you because I was lonely and you looked defeated." Ianto chewed on a piece of his breadstick. "I still missed Lisa, but I stopped hating you long before that. I wanted a companion of sorts, and you looked like you needed someone, too."

"You know the irony in that? When I hired you, I had plans to work my way into your bed."

"I know." Ianto smirked. "You aren't subtle, Jack."

"Who needs subtlety?"

"Obviously not you."

"You weren't that subtle when we first met," Jack pointed out.

Ianto placed his chin in one hand. "Your reputation preceded you, even at Torchwood One. I dressed as a rent-boy to grab your interest, and when that didn't work, I decided to be more forward about my intentions, and when _that_ didn't work—"

"You gave me a dinosaur."

"I did not give you a dinosaur. It just so happened that I stumbled upon it and I knew you were nearby. My plans for a third attempt to get you to hire me didn't involve any kind of dinosaur."

"You want to know why I hired you after we caught Myfanwy?" Ianto made a sound of interest. "I hired you because out of all three meetings, that last one was the only one where you seemed the most honest. I saw the actual you." Jack smiled into his glass when he lifted it up to take a drink. "Rolling around on the floor didn't hurt."

"I'm sure it didn't." Ianto got that faraway look in his eyes. "But it frightened me. I felt something there, and I didn't like it."

"Because of Lisa," Jack said softly. This was the first time they were broaching the subject of the Cyberman since it happened, and while it was all in the past, there were one or two things Jack wanted to know.

"Yes. She was in my flat, in pain, and there I was, getting hard on top of a man. A man I wanted to work for so I can help my girlfriend live."

"Did you mean it?" Jack asked. At Ianto's questioning look, he clarified his question. "Before I found Lisa in the basement, did you mean any of the kisses we shared?"

Five kisses stolen in the darkness. The first few Jack had initiated, but the final two Ianto had been the one to lean forward to press their mouths together. It was only after the Cyberman had been killed and incinerated that Jack had realized that the kisses, and the flirtation exchanged between them, had been used to distract him from finding out what Ianto had been doing. Even now, it bruised his ego to know how well that distraction had worked.

"I wanted them not to mean anything, I really did. But you were . . ." Ianto seemed to struggle on a way to phrase what he wanted to say. "You were you. I was attracted to you. I wanted you. And every time I tried for them to not mean anything, I left feeling guilty because I always forgot about her whenever I was with you." Ianto took a deep breath, avoiding his gaze. "That's why I never took up your offer for a shag. I felt guilty, like I was betraying her for wanting you."

"It explained a lot of your mixed signals." Jack finished his pizza and cannoli. He reached for some spaghetti. "I could never quite pin down if you really wanted me or not. I figured you were a straight man who was fighting your attraction for me. It made it more challenging, if I'm honest."

"Because how can anyone not want the great Captain Jack Harkness?" Ianto teased.

Jack puffed out his chest, striking a ridiculous pose. He smiled at Ianto's laugher. "I've been known to make even the straightest of men consider jumping into my bed. A few of them actually did."

"What lovely date talk." The humor in Ianto's voice took out any sting from words. "I didn't mean to let anything happen between us. I just wanted to distract you, keep your attention away from getting too curious about what I did in the basement." Ianto swallowed a healthy dose of ginger-ale. "I was surprised when I found myself actually enjoying it. I was so tired and stressed about Lisa that I didn't realize you were becoming a distraction for me, too." A tiny smile curved his lips. "But I think she would've understood. She saw you once, commented on your arse. She said that hardly anyone can resist Jack Harkness."

"You're not so resistible yourself, Ianto Jones."

"I don't know about that. Right now I feel like a whale."

Jack swallowed a bite of meatball. "That's where you're wrong. You look good pregnant. You're sexy, mother of my child," Jack teased. He yelped when there was a sharp pain at his leg. He pouted as he reached out and rubbed the newly sore spot. "I was just teasing."

"Call me the mother of your child again, and I'll aim between your legs next time."

Jack pouted some more. "Mean."

Despite the small show of violence on Ianto's part, the evening went relatively smoothly. There was some light banter, excited arguments on political issues, quizzes on how many aliens Jack knew and guesses of how many of those aliens were actually real, and bets on how well Nia will do on her first day on the job.

When all plates were polished, Jack proceeded to extinguish the flames on the candles and clear the table, making sure Ianto didn't lift a single finger to help. Jack even took care of Myfanwy and Torchwood's other residents, feeding them and making sure they were all right, and once all that was done, Jack led Ianto down a corridor to the first lower floor.

There was a makeshift room there that Jack had made a while back for the both of them, once he realized that Ianto's belly would make it impossible for him to navigate the ladder that led into Jack's bunker. As a solution, Jack had aired out a room, bought a bed big enough for the both of them, and purchased pillows, sheets, a duvet, and a chest of drawers for the few pieces of clothing Ianto would leave in Jack's tiny cupboard. Ianto had appreciated it the first time he saw it, and since then it has become a convenient place to stay when he was too exhausted to be taken home.

Like now. Ianto yawned heavily, his eyes sleepy. Jack was getting accustomed to sending Ianto to bed early or seeing him sleep late in the mornings. So often in the past Ianto was the first to come to work and the last to leave—if Jack let him leave at all, keeping him up with a few adult activities in his bunker. Jack didn't mind the change in their normal routines, though. The only person who seemed to have a problem with it was Ianto himself, always having to go to bed early or napping at odd hours of the day. Ianto confessed that it made him feel just as useless as being out of the field did.

He removed Ianto's clothing, leaving him in nothing more than his briefs. Jack took a moment to admire his swollen physique. So many women—and men—mourned how ugly they looked when pregnant, but to Jack they never looked so beautiful, and Ianto was no different.

He leaned forward and kissed Ianto's mouth. "Get into bed."

Jack partially undressed as Ianto slipped under the covers. Because it was too early for Jack to sleep—not that he needed much sleep to begin with—he turned on the tiny television he had installed in the room, settling next to his lover and gathering him in his arms, stroking his bare back.

"What are you going to watch this time?" Ianto's voice was a soft whisper.

"News, maybe. Or a movie." Jack nuzzled the top of his head. "Go to sleep."

An hour later, with Ianto nestled at his side sound asleep, Jack's wrist strap beeped. He checked the cause for it and his eyes narrowed. A small rift spike, coordinates on the Plass above the hub, and matching the rift spike that belonged to Ichtaca.

Jack slipped out of bed, grabbed his boots and Webley, and headed into the main hub. Dropping his boots, he quickly checked the CCTVs around the Plass, but he wasn't surprised to see no one there, yet the coordinates did not change or disappear.

Ichtaca was there.

He put on his boots and hopped on the invisible lift, letting it take him up to the surface. A part him acknowledged that it was probably stupid of him to confront Ichtaca on his own, but the opportunity to find answers finally presented itself. Jack wasn't about to lose this chance.

When he reached the top, Ichtaca stood not too far from him. He eyed the little girl, studying her tiny frame. It was odd how something so small and so innocent-looking could be a threat to a grown man. She was looking around, a confused and frustrated expression on her face.

Jack grazed the hilt of his Webley that rested in its holster before stepping out of the perception filter. "We need to talk."

She turned at the sound of his voice, blinking at him. Despite her youthful appearance, her eyes gave away her true age. There were stories there, a past. She was young in appearance but not in spirit. "That's precisely why I'm here, but you're not the person I wish to speak to."

"Tough, because I'm the only person you'll get to talk to."

Ichtaca narrowed her eyes. "You're of no concern to me. You did your duty. Now I wish to speak to Ianto."

They knew his name, which didn't make Jack feel good about the situation. "Ianto who?"

She seemed unimpressed by his denial. "You know exactly who I 'm referring to. Your mate, the one who carries your child."

"Mate, huh? Not exactly a term that's applied to humans. We have other words."

"Where is he?" Ichtaca snapped.

Jack dropped his act and narrowed his own eyes. "Not here."

"You lie. He's here, I know it. You can't hide him from me." She moved a few paces and halted. "He's _here_."

Jack kept his face blank. She was partially right, he supposed. Ianto was currently several feet underground, and hopefully still sleeping, but Ichtaca managing to pinpoint Ianto's general location concerned him. He wanted to demand an answer to that, but doing so would prove Ichtaca right and she'll only try harder to pinpoint Ianto's exact location. Jack didn't want to tip her off.

So he said, "You're not getting anywhere near him." Jack kept a careful distance from her, staying at least ten feet away. He didn't want to get too close. "Whatever you want to say to him, you'll need to say to me."

Ichtaca huffed, eyeing him up and down. Again, that unimpressed look. Jack wondered if he should feel insulted. "You're protective of him."

"I'm protective of everyone I care about. That means any threats will be taken care of as swiftly as possible."

She smiled. "You consider me a threat? You shouldn't. I wouldn't dare harm him or the baby."

"And I should believe you, why?"

Ichtaca sighed. She was silent for several seconds, her expression now one of contemplation, before she said, "Because my people's race depends on his baby being born."

Jack didn't know what he had been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been that. "How do you figure? You're alien, the baby is human. I fail to see a connection."

"My people's existence is threatened." She tilted her head up to the sky. "We are called the Yamni, an alien race that thrives in a three planet solar system in another galaxy." She closed her eyes. "Used to thrive." She lowered her head and lifted her hand. An image projected in the space between him and her, giving him a view of three planets revolving around a small sun. "This was our home. Billions upon billions of Yamni, prospering in this tiny solar system—until the meteor came." The image wavered for a moment, blurring. When it cleared, it showed a meteor striking one of the planets, obliterating it. A heavy fog of dust and debris eventually made its way to the remaining planets. "We aren't sure how or why, but years after this accident, after we took refuge elsewhere in the universe, the Yamni came to realize that our males are sterile." She closed the projection. "They can no longer conceive."

"So Yamni males can't impregnate the females?"

She shook her head. "Females don't carry the children, Yamni males do. Or used to, at least." Her gaze lowered slightly, her expression shifting to one of sorrow. "Our numbers are dwindling. There are a little over a million of us left as our old continue to die and the young fail to produce the next generation of Yamni."

Jack mulled over her words, but found it difficult to feel much sympathy for an alien trying to take his unborn child away from him. "Look, I'm sorry for your loss, but none of that helps me understand what you want with Ianto or the baby. Tell me what you want with them." Jack couldn't help the demanding tone that came with the words.

"We tried to find a way to cure the sterility of our males, but nothing we did accomplished anything more than make them sick. We came to realize that we would need to start afresh."

"Which means what?"

"Use human males to create a new generation of Yamni."

Jack stared at her, confused. "If you haven't noticed, Ianto's human. How do you expect him to carry a Yamni? And just to clarify, that baby he carries was proven to be mine and his, one hundred percent human and one hundred percent ours."

"True, but you see, there's so much more to it than whom the baby belongs to biologically. Yamni and humans share a lot more than you think."

"Like what?"

"Ancestry." Yamni looked smug at catching Jack off-guard. "Humans are just one of many of the Yamni ancestors. It's believed that humans mingled with aliens and somewhere down the line, the Yamni were born."

Jack tried his best to untangle the information handed to him. "This still doesn't explain why you want my lover or baby."

"Yamni males get pregnant because of a gene in their DNA, an active gene that makes conception possible. We refer to it as the pregnancy gene, and human males possess that same gene. We believe that's where the Yamni males got it from because no other of our ancestors has that gene."

"But men can't get pregnant."

"True. The gene is inactive in human males, but before the meteor, the gene was active in our Yamni males." She shrugged. "Perhaps during breeding with aliens, the gene in humans became active in their male children." She placed a finger on her chin. "It's curious, isn't it? That you and I could be distant cousins of a sort?"

Jack grunted. "I could think of more pleasant things."

Ichtaca ignored him. "Without other options, the Yamni decided to impregnate human males so they could give birth to their young, and those children will carry the pregnancy gene."

"Active, I presume."

Ichtaca clapped her hands twice, as though applauding him. "Apparently you aren't as thick as you look." She smiled. "With babies containing that active gene, which will be permanently active, they can now get pregnant, no matter the species they breed with."

"And it never occurred to you that male pregnancy is nonexistent in this century on this planet? Most of them don't even know aliens exist."

"Desperation tends to cloud judgment, I admit, but desperation also leads to risky decisions. Time is running out for the Yamni. If things continue to go the way they are, the Yamni will be extinct within the next thousand years. So we did a few experiments and managed to come up with a drug that temporarily activates the pregnancy gene in your males, just long enough to enable them to get pregnant." She bounced on her toes. "With your child, the active pregnancy gene will be passed down from generation to generation, with every single male descendant from your child possessing the ability to become pregnant."

"Not that I condone this," Jack said, "but why go after the men? Why not the women?"

"Apparently you _are_ as thick as you look." Jack scowled. Ichtaca smirked. "Your females lack the gene. Whatever gives them the ability to get pregnant lies in another part of their DNA. They were deemed useless."

"And I suppose your desperation made you forget that human males who get pregnant risk death or complications from the pregnancy, or that the baby might be born stillborn or deformed?"

"Like I said," she said through clenched teeth, "desperation leads to risky decisions."

"Or you just didn't care." She neither confirmed nor denied the accusation, but silence almost always served as an admission of guilt. "So where are these other pregnant men?"

Her humor dimmed substantially. "There are no other pregnant males. Your mate is the only one."

Jack crossed his arms, taking in her look of slight embarrassment. Was she actually embarrassed for the failure of previous experiments? "You just said you managed to activate the gene in other men."

"We did. Pregnancies occurred, but the pregnancies never lasted. In our earlier experiments, their bodies couldn't handle the foetus, and in recent years, we realized that the males would have the foetus surgically removed, believing it to be a tumour. Or the males would miscarry."

The earlier experiments must have involved the kidnapped men in those news stories Gwen discovered. Jack could only imagine how those experiments were done.

"Conception was made possible, but the pregnancy never lasted longer than a few months," Ichtaca continued. She lifted her chin. "We nearly lost hope, until Ianto's pregnancy lasted longer than any other of our subjects."

Now that was a curious thing. If Ianto hadn't worked in Torchwood, Ianto probably would have considered the baby a tumour early on in the pregnancy, not even considering that the supposed tumour could actually be a baby, and if Terry hadn't realized that Ianto's immune system was attacking the baby, Ianto would have miscarried.

"So you used humans as lab rats, nearly gave up, and now you are stalking my lover because he's the only one who didn't kill or miscarry the baby." Jack pursed his lips. "How did you do it? Get them pregnant."

"I told you, we temporarily activated the gene—"

"I know that. I meant _how_ did you activate the gene? You said something about a drug. How did you give it to Ianto?"

She was obviously unhappy with his impatient tone. "That is something that isn't any of your concern."

"Considering the fact that my lover is pregnant, I kind of think it is." She stayed quiet, calmly gazing at him. "Oh, come on. Don't stop talking now that we're becoming such good friends." She sneered slightly. Clearly she wasn't going to answer, and Jack felt a flash of irritation. "I have a right—"

This time she interrupted him. "He's safe, if that is what you are worried about. I meant what I told him. I wouldn't harm him or the baby. The drugs are harmless."

He didn't trust her. To be on the safe side, Jack would ask Terry to look Ianto over. "Why him?" he demanded. "Why did you choose him or any other men to carry your little experiment? Or were they all chosen at random?"

"Pheromones. The scent of your females is vastly different from your males. It is easy to differentiate between males that lie with females, and males that lie with other males."

Another clue to the interesting species of the Yamni. Powerful sense of smell.

"You know, I can almost forgive you for using humans for your experiments, but I have a real big issue with you stalking Ianto. Makes him nervous, stressed, and that pisses me off."

"I'm not stalking him. I'm observing him, making sure he is doing okay."

"He doesn't need you for that."

She rolled her eyes. "I did not come here to argue. I want to talk to him."

"I'm not letting you anywhere near Ianto."

"Yes, you told me that." She clasped her hands behind her back. A few people crossed the Plass, but no one paid them any mind. She scrutinized him for a long moment. She seemed to come to some kind of decision. "In all honesty, your mate isn't as important as that baby, so I'm open to negotiations."

Jack already had an idea of what she was going to ask for. "There's nothing to negotiate."

"I believe there is. Surely we can come up with a compromise that will satisfy all parties." She scanned the area. "Although I do prefer to speak with your mate. I have a feeling he won't be as stubborn as you."

"You obviously don't know Ianto, and at the risk of repeating myself, you're not getting near him."

She huffed slightly, looking very much like a little girl who was just denied a toy at the toy shop. "Fine. Here are my terms. Give me—my team—the baby, and you can keep Ianto."

Jack couldn't help but laugh. "Those are your terms?"

He had offended her with his laughter, her feathers obviously ruffled. "I think those are fair terms, considering my original plans involved taking them both."

"What in hell makes you think that I'll gladly hand over my child?"

"The baby could save the Yamni race. He's our future."

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And then what, you'll keep him in a lab until he grows up and dies?"

"That's not any of your concern. The baby will be considered ours, and what we do to him is our right."

"What if the baby's a girl? Won't that spoil all your plans?"

She smirked. "Don't play with me. I know it's a boy."

Jack growled. "Let me make it clear. Ianto and the baby won't be going anywhere with you or any other of your little friends. He's my lover and that's my baby, so they both stay with me."

"Think this over very carefully." She narrowed her eyes. "We're giving you the option of having your mate stay with you. That's the only deal we're willing to offer you."

"Like I said, they both stay with me."

This time she gave her own little growl. "Then we take both by force."

"Try it." Jack pulled out his Webley and aimed it at her. "See what happens."

She laughed, the giggles sounding much too cruel coming from a body of a ten year old. "I may look like a child, but it doesn't mean I can't hurt you. I can do things you humans can only dream of."

"Really? What a coincidence, so can I."

Her eyes glowed gold. "I very much doubt that."

Jack gasped as his chest suddenly constricted, a sharp pain in his heart. "What . . .?"

"I can easily crush your heart until it's nothing more than a dead organ. Even better, I can make it explode the way I made that creature explode."

Jack collapsed onto his knee. It fucking hurt, the pain unbearable. He couldn't breathe properly, any breaths he managed to make coming out in sharp gasps.

"I can do this to you and all those other people that always surround your mate," Ichtaca continued to say, "but I choose not to because I want him to come by his own free will. Less likely to fight against us if he comes willingly." She moved closer. "I ask you this, oh protector. Who will watch out for your mate with all of you dead?"

The pain suddenly eased and Jack panted. He lifted his head to glare at her. "I won't let them go without a fight."

"And you should've taken the deal." She cocked her head. "It looks like I have no choice." She straightened her shoulders. "Consider the deal off the table. Your mate and child are ours, whether you like it or not." She vanished.

Jack took a few moments to get his breath back before he stood up, grabbing his Webley. He shakily made his way back to the invisible lift, closing his eyes for the short trip down. He rubbed at his chest, feeling like his heart was still aching from the physical pain Ichtaca caused. She was strong, he'd give her that.

Once he reached the bottom of the lift, he quickly returned to Ianto's room, a need to make sure he was safe and well bubbling up inside him. He didn't relax until he reached the room and saw Ianto in the same place he left him, sleeping on his side with one hand curled near his face.

Jack walked forward and sat on the bed, running a hand through Ianto's hair before moving it down to Ianto's stomach, cupping the curve. The baby kicked, causing Ianto to stir slightly. Jack hushed him until Ianto fell back into a deep sleep.

He was furious at Ichtaca, furious at her for doing this. Jack didn't regret his unborn son, but he hated how the pregnancy came about. Ianto was nothing more than a lab rat, a means to an end for a dying race, and now she was threatening him, threatening to take Ianto and the baby away. Jack hated being threatened.

He lay down beside Ianto, turning on his side to watch the slack expression on his lover's face. Ianto would be angry to learn that Jack confronted her on his own, but it was a risk Jack had felt a need to take, and now he had more information to go on to protect Ianto and the baby. Every alien had a weakness, and the Yamni was bound to have one. All Jack needed to do was find it.

* * *

><p>Ianto typed in the term 'Yamni' in the hub's database. As the computer ran a search, he turned to Jack. "So instead of waiting for a more opportune time to confront an unknown alien who can apparently kill things without touching them, you decide to go up there and confront her by yourself."<p>

Jack's arms were crossed over his chest, staring at the screen. "She didn't kill me."

"She tried to."

"As a warning. I don't think she wanted to kill me. And even if she had, I would've come back anyway."

Jack was completely missing the point. Learning that Jack confronted Ichtaca without any kind of backup wasn't something Ianto had wanted to hear first thing in the morning.

"She was here to talk and that's what we did last night, and I nicely told her to go to hell," Jack added. "At least we know more about them."

Ianto was of two minds about the new information Jack managed to get. A part of him felt sorry for the Yamni. It was unfortunate that they were facing extinction, a result of what had been—or will be, considering the hint that the Yamni came from the future—an unforeseen natural event. But another part of him was annoyed. He was, as Jack told him, a subject, an experiment to be used and studied in order to see if his body could withstand a pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby. It made him feel like a thing, something less than human.

"She could've done worse than kill you," Ianto muttered. "A lot worse."

Jack turned away from the computer. "We've been hitting dead ends since she mentioned her name, but now we know what she wants from you. And since she can kill people without much effort, better me than anyone else who could get hurt. I could only imagine what she would've done if you had been with me."

Ianto hated it when Jack didn't see the bigger picture. He was well aware that Jack's immortality gave him an advantage over others, but his inability to die could just as easily be used against him. Long-term torture came to mind. Jack had emotional scars, and although he didn't completely share it with Ianto, his eyes spoke of pain. Ichtaca could have ensured Jack's suffering for years to come.

"I'm not saying that I don't appreciate what you do for me because I do appreciate it, but Jack, there are limits to how far you need to protect me—"

Any further words lodged in his throat at the fierce look Jack gave him. "There are no limits to how far I am willing to go to protect you and our child."

Ianto swallowed at the raw honesty in Jack's declaration.

The computer finished its search and presented them with several windows containing references to the Yamni. A lot of the information confirmed what they've seen with their own eyes—their ability to teleport—and what Ichtaca had told Jack last night, but there were a few bits of information that she had failed to mention.

He pointed at one of the windows. "There's no record of what the Yamni truly look like. They can absorb the images of others and project them." Ianto turned to Jack with a frown. "What does that mean? How can something absorb an image?"

"I don't know. But this does mean that Ichtaca's appearance of a little girl is nothing more than an image she's projecting to us."

Ianto frowned. "Why choose a little girl?"

"Easier to get close to you? Look less threatening?" Jack nodded at the screen. "Scroll down." Ianto did, stopping when Jack told him to. "Well that explains how she killed the Wendigo and constricted my heart. They can manipulate molecules."

Ianto ran his eyes down the page on the screen. The Yamni could accelerate, slow down, separate, stop, and move molecules at their leisure, a dangerous talent when one considered that everything around them was made up of molecules. Even humans were made up of molecules. There did seem to be a drawback, though. Distance was key because the closer they were, the easier it was for the Yamni to manipulate the molecules of the object. The teleportation also had a drawback involving distance. The further the distance, the more tiring it was, especially for those whose powers were weak.

"If they don't teleport to another part of Earth, then they must be around our solar system." Ianto chewed on his bottom lip. "If teleporting across long-distances takes heavy amounts of energy, they wouldn't want to move far."

"Excellent deduction, my dear Jones." Jack rocked back on his heels. "They wouldn't want to go far anyway, not when their lab rat is right here."

Ianto shot Jack a look. "Completely tactless, my idiotic Harkness."

"You were thinking it."

"Didn't mean you had to say it."

Jack threw an arm around Ianto's shoulders. "The only thing I still can't figure out is how we can't see them on the CCTVs."

That was a bit of a mystery. "Perhaps they can camouflage themselves somehow or maybe make themselves invisible at will."

Jack considered that for a moment. "That could explain why no one seems to see Ichtaca. Ten year old girl wandering around on her own and no one notice that she's there."

Ianto remembered looking up the reports that followed the incident with the Wendigo, wanting to see if the story Andy had put through really did convince people that it hadn't been an alien, and not one of the reports mentioned a little girl standing right in the centre of the action.

"But," Jack continued, "that still gives us more questions than answers." He inhaled sharply. "We need a game plan."

"Like what? She comes and goes when she pleases, and apparently she can kill with a single look."

"I don't know. We'll figure it out." Jack reached out to save the information. "We have to. It's either that or she'll take you and Salted Peanut."

Ianto shuddered as a horrid image came to mind of white walls, sterile equipment, and cages, and him sitting in one those cages, being observed and gawked at by Ichtaca and her team. Maybe he would be connected to wires. And what would happen after the baby was born? Would they prevent him from holding his own child? Run tests on the baby? Pump him with drugs? Or would they do all of that to Ianto, make him fertile once more to see if he could become impregnated again?

They were already on edge, so when the alarms sounded and the cogwheel opened, they turned to it with Jack brandishing his weapon and Ianto bracing himself for an attack.

Nia walked through the door, halting at the sight of a gun aimed right at her. She cocked her head, lifting her hands in a show of surrender. "If this is how you greet new employees, then you guys really need to work on your welcoming skills."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note**: I'm really glad of the positive response this story is getting, especially when Mpreg isn't a very fond genre. Thank you so much for the reviews, it gives me great pleasure to know that you're enjoying the story.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER SEVEN<strong>

Ianto twisted in front of the mirror, running a hand down his belly and marvelling at its shape. Sometimes he felt like he was having an out of body experience, watching someone else examine his stomach that housed a squirming little baby. He was big, and despite Jack's constant assurances that Ianto had never looked more attractive, Ianto didn't feel it. He wasn't usually so concerned about his looks, but when you have a stomach sticking out like a sore thumb and nothing seemed to fit as well as it used to, it was difficult to feel anything other than ugly and fat. Ianto didn't like feeling that way.

"You look fine," Jack murmured from the bed, lying on his stomach with his chin planted on top of his crossed arms. The sheet was draped across his lower body, leaving his back exposed to the soft glow of the moonlight and the artificial lighting from the lamp that rested on the nightstand. He looked bloody gorgeous, which certainly didn't help Ianto's self-esteem.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were pregnant." Ianto looked at the mirror again and sighed. He saw push-ups and crunches in the near future to get rid of the extra weight he gained.

"I did go through it once, remember? And at least you don't have an alien's offspring trying to chew its way out of you."

Ianto grimaced at how his belly button stuck out. It looked odd. "At least you don't have some alien coming after you."

"Hey, she's not going to get you, I won't let her." Jack sat up and held out his hand. "Come here, I'll put some cream on your stomach."

Ianto padded towards the bed and gingerly sat on it, wiggling until he was reclining against the soft pillows. His back ached from the strain of the added weight in his abdomen. It was difficult nowadays to find any position that allowed him some comfort, and with the baby growing at a steady pace, Ianto could almost feel his organs shifting.

He watched Jack open the tube of cream. "Do you really think that stuff works on stretch marks?"

"Nia said her sister used it when she was pregnant, and afterwards there were no stretch marks." Jack poured some on his hands and rubbed them together before placing them on Ianto's stomach.

Who knew he would be sitting in his flat with Jack rubbing cream on his exposed belly as they discussed stretch marks? He never thought he would need to worry about stretch marks to begin with.

As Jack spread the cream over his stretched skin, Ianto said, "I just keep expecting her to show up, even here." There was no need for him to clarify who he was referring to.

"She won't, and if she did I would know. Don't think about it."

Jack's wrist strap was programmed to let them know if a Yamni got within ten feet of Ianto's building. It wasn't as reassuring as Jack seemed to think it was. If Ichtaca wanted to, Ianto suspected she could appear, grab him, and teleport them out of the flat in just two seconds.

"Kind of hard not to, Jack. That's all I've been thinking about."

Ianto watched Jack's hands rub the cream into his skin. The baby seemed to enjoy it because it was kicking up a storm, causing Jack to smile. There were subtle rises in his skin that accompanied every kick, and Jack responded by rubbing the cream in those very same areas. Ianto constantly endured kicking sessions between father and son, watching Jack's face lighten up with such a simple game.

Jack was so kinetic, restless even, but he seemed content to stay by Ianto's side and talk to his stomach or nudge their son into moving. It made Ianto wonder if Jack was not only making up for lost time during the first few months of his pregnancy, but also making up for lost time for the two children that had been taken away from him, one by death and another by a distraught mother. Ianto didn't know how Jack had handled it.

If this baby was taken from him, whether by death or some other entity, Ianto didn't know how he would be able to withstand the loss. Salted Peanut, as Jack now referred to him, was a part of him, and now Ianto understood the strong bond that a parent could have with their child, even more so since he was the one carrying it.

"Don't tell her I told you this, but Gwen wants to throw you a surprise baby shower."

Ianto gave him a horrified look. "No, absolutely not."

Jack winked. "I told her you wouldn't like it, but she was pretty adamant, until I told her that we already bought a lot of stuff for Salted Peanut."

Which was an utter lie because the only thing Ianto had was a teddy bear Jack had given him, a sort of apology gift for rejecting the baby in the first place. Other than that, nothing has been purchased for the baby, mostly because Ianto had no idea what he wanted. He browsed through magazines and websites, but there were so many things to choose from that he wasn't sure where to start. Plus, he still hasn't decided if he wanted to move. He wanted to make that decision first before he bought anything big, like cribs or changing tables, but as Jack has mentioned not too long ago, time was running out.

In a couple of weeks he would enter his third trimester, and once he passed that crucial mark, if he went into premature labour (although everyone hoped he made it full-term) the chances of the baby surviving were high. That meant that Ianto could be holding a newborn in his arms sooner than he wished, and at the rate Ianto was going, there would be no place to put the baby in once he brought him home.

"Do you think that's going to stop her?" Ianto knew how Gwen sometimes went overboard whenever she wanted to do something nice for others. "It's Gwen we're talking about."

Jack shrugged. "She's trying to convince Nia to help her buy a few things for the baby."

Ianto stared, incredulous. "Nia?"

Jack gave one more stroke under Ianto's belly with the cream before closing the tube. "Yep." When Ianto continued to stare, Jack asked, "What?"

"I can't see Nia shopping for baby clothes. I see her shopping for baby-sized guns."

Jack snickered. "Can't argue with that."

Nia had been welcomed into Torchwood by Terry and, particularly, Gwen, who was quite happy to have another female on the team after months of working alongside men, although within the first few weeks it was clear that their views tended to sharply clash. Gwen wanted to save aliens; Nia was more inclined to shoot them. Whenever they argued, the men retreated until it was over and both women were friends once more.

"So don't be surprised if you walk into the hub one day and find streamers, balloons, cake, and a few presents for the baby."

Ianto groaned at Jack's words. That was something Gwen would definitely do. "No baby showers."

"Why not? Since you obviously don't want to do the shopping."

"It's not that I don't want to do it, it's just that there's no time."

"Are you sure that's it?" Jack stretched out on the bed, blissfully nude as he kicked the covers towards the end of the bed. Ianto eyed the expanse of naked flesh. "Because it seems every time I suggest we buy some things, you find one excuse or another to not buy anything."

Ianto let his head fall back lightly, hearing a soft thump as his head hit the headboard. "I can't help the stray Weevil or the rogue alien who decides to cause havoc in the city."

"That's true, but it's still an excuse." Jack rolled onto his side and lifted a hand to graze Ianto's stomach. "You're scared, aren't you?"

Ianto wiggled to get more comfortable. "I told you I'm scared."

"You're scared to buy things only to have no baby to give them to."

He closed his eyes. "I'm optimistic. I believe that the baby will live." He reopened them to stare down at Jack. His lover was gazing up at him with understanding, and that gave him the courage to confess. "But sometimes I think that maybe the baby won't survive, and if he dies and I have all this baby stuff around me—" He inhaled sharply. "I really don't want to deal with that."

"Salted Peanut will be okay." Jack grabbed his hand, playing with Ianto's fingers. "You heard what Terry said. Just a couple of more weeks and the baby could survive outside of your body."

"He can still die."

"But he won't. Positive thinking. You taught me that." Jack rolled over and grabbed the teddy bear off the nightstand where Ianto had put it. He rolled back over and planted the bear on Ianto's belly. "This is Salted Peanut."

Ianto was confused. "What?"

"Think of this bear as Salted Peanut. What does he need?"

Ianto stared at the bear, completely at a loss of what Jack was trying to do. "I don't understand."

"Well, doesn't Salted Peanut need something to keep it warm? It has fur, but really, how do we know that's enough?"

The bear stared at him with black smooth eyes, wearing nothing more than the fake fur on its body and a tiny little bow. Then Ianto laughed when he realized what Jack was doing. "A shirt," he decided.

"Pink or blue?"

"Blue. He's a boy, so we need the standard baby boy colour." Ianto glanced at a grinning Jack. "This is ridiculous."

Jack wiggled the bear. "Is it a plain blue shirt or does it have designs on it?"

"Ducks." An image came to mind. "Little ducks all around the hem and a tiny breast pocket that bears another duck. There are clouds as well. Not a lot, but a few."

"And where will we get this shirt?"

"At Mothercare." The answer was automatic, but once he realized what he said, Ianto flushed a little. "I've seen it displayed in the window."

"Then that's the first thing we'll buy." Jack tossed the bear towards the bottom of the bed. "And while we're there we'll browse around, see what else catches our eye, and maybe think about getting those, too."

Ianto smiled at Jack's antics. Nevertheless, he nodded. "I should make a list."

"You and your lists," Jack said fondly.

"Do not mock the lists. It keeps things organized. The hub runs much more smoothly with my lists, doesn't it?" He reached out to play with Jack's hair. "Besides, this way we'll know what we plan to buy and where to get it, and then we can cross it off once we buy it." He was getting a bit excited about it, actually. Having Jack at his side made it easy.

He reached into his bedside drawer.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Getting a notepad and pen. I want to write down the things we need."

Jack groaned. "Now?"

"Why not?" Ianto found a notepad and pen nestled among the items in the drawer. "Best to get an early start." He scribbled _Baby List_ at the top of the first page and put down crib as the first item.

"We could also send the list to Gwen so she could buy a few things," Jack suggested.

"Why?"

"Because she wants to. I might even be able to talk her into buying a few things in exchange for not throwing a baby shower for you. Hell, she can go crazy and buy everything on the list." Jack leaned up to kiss Ianto's shoulder. "It would make it easier for you. Never have to leave the flat or hub and you wouldn't have to deal with the stares."

Jack was humouring him. Ianto still felt like people were staring at him, but Jack had said that his stomach wasn't noticeable under his coat.

Jack reached out and caressed Ianto's thigh. "Why don't you do the list later?"

Ianto wrote down changing table. "Now is a perfectly good time to write down what we need." His muscle twitched as Jack traced his fingers towards the hem of Ianto's boxers. "What are you doing?"

Jack gave him a saucy grin and nuzzled Ianto's belly. "Admiring your physique?"

Ianto snorted. "We just had sex! Aren't you ever satisfied?"

"Hello, my name is Jack Harkness, have we met before?"

Point taken.

Jack sat up and grabbed the notepad and pen right out of Ianto's hands. "Jack!"

He tossed them onto the floor. "The list can wait."

"So can your cock."

"No, it can't." He reached out and cupped Ianto's crotch. Ianto sucked in a breath only to release it in the form of a soft, pleasurable moan. "And neither can yours."

Jack effectively stripped Ianto until all he had left was the slim leather bracelet. After some tricky manoeuvring, Ianto eventually found himself astride Jack's lap, his bottom snug against Jack's hard length. There weren't that many positions they could have sex in. If it wasn't his belly getting in the way, it was Ianto's inability to find comfortable positions. The only two positions Ianto and Jack managed to find that suited both their tastes were Ianto on top of Jack as he rode him, or both on their sides with Jack thrusting from behind.

Once Jack slicked his fingers with lube—Ianto had refused to let him use the cream to loosen him—he carefully slid one inside of Ianto. He murmured his pleasure at the intrusion, the lack of a burn indicating that he was still pliant from their earlier bout of sex. He gasped softly when Jack slid in another finger, moving them in and out. There was no rush in his movements as he slowly stimulated Ianto's prostate. Ianto did his best to move against the fingers inside him, feeling Jack's other hand caressing his belly. The sensitivity of his stomach only added to the pleasure found from the fingers inside him, and it wasn't long before quiet pleas escaped his mouth.

Jack removed his fingers and placed his hands on Ianto's hips, hitching him a little higher. "Put me inside you."

Ianto reached behind him, hand momentarily scrambling until his fingers located and wrapped around pulsing flesh. He angled it and shivered when he felt the slick head touch his entrance. Carefully, with Jack's hands on his hips to keep him steady, he took Jack inside, slowly sinking down until Jack's entire length was inside him.

"God, you feel good," Jack groaned.

Ianto laughed shakily, his body making tiny movements to better adjust around Jack's cock. "You should feel it from my end."

Jack snorted. "Pun intended?"

"Oh, yes." Ianto lifted up, sucking in a breath at the sensation of Jack's cock sliding against his inner muscles. "Oh, yes," he whispered as he slid back down.

Jack's fingers danced on Ianto's own weeping flesh as he thrust up into Ianto's downward slide. "I could do this all day." He swiped his thumb across Ianto's cockhead and offered it up to him for a taste. Ianto leaned forward and took his thumb in his mouth, humming his pleasure at tasting his own pre-come. "Just stay in bed all day and watch you ride me."

Ianto released Jack's thumb. "Who would watch over the rift?" He moved a little faster.

"Terry and the girls. They can handle it."

"And what happens if a rogue Weevil decides to attack humans?"

"Let them." Jack jerked his hips up, encircling Ianto's cock and beginning to stroke in time to Ianto's movements. "This is better."

Ianto swallowed. It was getting a little difficult to talk now. "And if the earth moves again?"

Jack growled softly. "Fuck the earth." He began to touch Ianto's stomach.

"You want to fuck the earth?" Ianto gave a choked laugh. "How is that possible?"

"You know what I mean." Jack licked his lips as Ianto began to bounce a little harder. His prostate was brushed with every other thrust, but it was enough to leave him gasping, and with Jack stroking his cock, the pleasure began to overwhelm him, his own chest flushing with the colour of passion, matching Jack's flushed skin from the exertion. "If the universe implodes, it won't matter."

Ianto didn't believe him, but it was nice to hear anyway. He didn't respond, the sweet agonizing pleasure too strong for him to form anything remotely coherent.

Minutes passed, the silence in the room interrupted by the heavy pants, loud moans, and choked cries that one or both men produced. Ianto's rhythm constantly switched from slow grinds to fast movements, using Jack's legs to keep him balanced.

Jack's hands suddenly squeezed his hips, preventing him from moving. Ianto blinked rapidly and struggled to get air in his lungs. "What—?"

"Let's turn you around."

Ianto found himself being twisted around (not an easy feat) until he was sitting on Jack's lap backwards. Jack's chest pressed against his back and his arms encircled him, one hand on his stomach, the other working Ianto's cock. Jack resumed moving, and while his thrusts were now slow, they were also deep, which made up for the lack of speed.

Jack groaned in his ear before teeth nipped and nibbled on his earlobe. Ianto turned his head and pressed their lips together, lifting an arm to reach back and wrap it around Jack's neck as best he could. It was awkward and messy, but still delicious.

Ianto's muscles tensed as his testicles grew warm and tight. Jack rubbed a thumb across the head of his length before he traced the slit, making Ianto jerk in pleasure. He was close, so close, and he urged Jack to stroke faster. When the heat in his cock climbed to its highest peak, he pulled his mouth away to cry out, arching his back as his cock erupted and sent spurts of milky semen across his stomach. He shuddered as Jack stroked him through his orgasm, his lover's thrusts becoming erratic. Just as he began to descend from his sexual high, he vaguely heard Jack's muffled cry of completion against his shoulder, the evidence of the immortal's pleasure spilling inside of him.

They remained in that position for several moments as they caught their breaths, Ianto's head resting against Jack's shoulder while Jack continued to caress his stomach. The baby kicked, getting a tired chuckle out of Jack.

"Salted Peanut must have enjoyed the show."

"I'm sure feeling all the movement kept him up." He felt Jack nuzzle his neck.

"He's upside down so he might have been able to see something very interesting by his head."

Ianto laughed softly as he carefully climbed off Jack to lie down. Jack slid out of bed and retreated into the bathroom, giving Ianto a delightful view of his rear end before it vanished into the bathroom. A quick sound of running water and Jack soon returned, carrying a moist flannel that he used to clean Ianto up. He flinched.

"Cold," he muttered.

"No complaining, unless you want to do it yourself."

Ianto gave him a lazy smile, recognizing the words for the lie it was. Jack was attentive to him and his needs, and while Ianto appreciated the attention, like now, there were times when he felt annoyed at not being allowed to do anything for himself. He didn't need any assistance to reach the cupboards or dust his flat, although if one asked Jack he really didn't need to do anything except lie down and rest. Ianto wasn't one to lie in bed all day and do nothing.

However, there was one thing he didn't mind making Jack do for him. "Jack?"

"Yep?" Jack tossed the flannel in the direction of the bathroom before slipping into bed.

"Do you mind going out and getting me some breadsticks?"

* * *

><p>Dear Lord, Ianto was starting to waddle. He walked to and fro in the main hub, trying to walk as he normally would but failing to accomplish anything more than tiring his feet. His body still swayed from side to side, and he gave into defeat once he heard Nia snort at his attempts.<p>

"Honey, I think you'll be waddling for quite a while."

Ianto shot her a dirty look. "Did your sister waddle once she entered her third trimester?"

"She was carrying twins, she was waddling well before you were."

Ianto looked down in an attempt to see his feet, but his stomach was officially in the way. Damnation. "Do I look funny?" He presented himself to her. Trousers had become too much of a bother so he had opted for black sweatpants after spending nearly an hour deciding if looking professional at work was worth the effort it took to put on trousers. Of course, once that decision had been made, it had led to footwear and shirts that didn't seem too casual for the hub but still went well with his sweats. He had ended up wearing black trainers and a grey jumper that stretched just enough to cover his bulge. He had worn a heavy coat to cover himself when he had left his flat, but had removed it as soon as he entered the hub. "Jack says I look fine, but . . ."

"You look lovely." Nia eyes zeroed in on his stomach. That was the disadvantage of wearing the jumper. It left nothing to the imagination when it came to his midsection. "If slightly deformed."

"Thanks," Ianto said dryly. "I'm sure Jack could learn from your use of tact."

Nia waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. Clearly she didn't care for tact when honesty worked well for her. "I still can't get over the fact that I'm working with a pregnant man. I always knew there was more to life than what the government and the media tells us, but pregnant men never occurred to me."

"Imagine my surprise when Terry scans me only to tell me that I have an embryo growing inside me."

"How did you guys take it? You and Jack."

Ianto thought back to his impulsive decision to terminate the sac, and Jack's continued stubbornness to not get involved. "It was difficult." Ianto walked—fuck, _waddled_—closer to Nia's workstation. "Jack was worried about what could happen if I attempted to carry it, and I was worried about having it inside me. Needless to say, it took us both a while to realize that we wanted the baby."

Nia wrinkled her nose. "I don't know how anyone can stand the idea of babies." She swivelled her chair towards the metal table that bore several pieces of alien weapons. "I babysat my sister's twins for three hours. That was more than enough time for me to decide that I never wanted kids."

She began to press the buttons on one of the weapons. It resembled the shape of a standard gun, but contained far more parts.

"What are you doing?"

Nia grinned. "Trying to figure out how to get this darling to function." She held up the gun. "I'm pretty sure it shoots some kind of beam and that it's supposed to work over short distances, but I'm trying to make it work." She aimed it at the far wall, index finger pressing a yellow button. The weapon shuddered, but did nothing else. "And it refuses to cooperate with me. That's all I've managed in the last few days." She frowned at it. "It's starting to piss me off."

"You have a strange relationship with weaponry, you know that?"

Nia shrugged and lowered the gun. "My dad had guns, so I grew up around them. I played with toy guns at eight, got to play with my dad's real guns at twelve, and finally managed to own my own at eighteen. Wasn't supposed to, though, so I got into trouble."

"I know, I read your record."

She looked almost proud of her criminal record that he had conveniently made to disappear. "Can't keep a girl away from her true love, I say."

Ianto thrummed an empty space on the table. "Need any help?" The stairs going down to the Archives were a little steep, and with the poor lighting it was a little bit difficult to manoeuvre down the steps in his condition without someone's help.

Jack, Gwen, and Terry were all in the boardroom discussing those six-legged creatures—according to Gwen, they were called Sanige—who were officially off the planet. Gwen and Terry had managed to help U.N.I.T. round up most of them and convince them to go on home before they were forced to. When Terry and Gwen had returned to Cardiff, the majority of the Sanige had left, but U.N.I.T. had been left with the duty of finding the few stranglers who had tried to stay behind. Gwen and Terry were now reviewing the latest reports from U.N.I.T. about the last few Sanige with Jack.

Ianto was loathed to bother them. There was always Nia, but Ianto didn't feel comfortable asking for her help down the stairs to the Archives. She seemed completely engrossed with her projects, which left Ianto with nothing to do.

Nia glanced around her workstation. "Sure. Give me that thing there."

Ianto reached for a square shaped gadget that she was pointing at. It was small and black. "What is it?"

"No clue, but there's this circle shape that matches a shape on the gun." She planted the square gadget on the bottom of the gun, locking it into place. The gun suddenly hummed. "Huh." She studied it. "Guess that woke it up."

When she pointed it at the far wall, Ianto quickly said, "Maybe it would be best to try it in the firing range? We don't want laser beams destroying the equipment."

"Oh, yeah, sure."

Ianto carried a few things to the firing range, which was a little easier to access than the Archives. As they walked, Nia babbled about how she would have loved to use this gun on an ex-boyfriend who saw it fit to break her heart via email. Ianto was pretty sure that any guy who dared to date a woman who loved guns shouldn't rely on email to break-up with her—unless he was afraid of getting shot at. Looking at Nia's excited expression over the gun, the ex-boyfriend had probably made a wise move breaking up with her like that. Nia could be scary sometimes.

The first attempt to use the gun failed to produce anything other than smoke, so they spent twenty minutes making adjustments until a short yellow beam escaped the gun and tore through a paper target picturing a Weevil.

"Yes!" Nia pumped the air with her fist. "Now that's what I'm talking about."

Ianto grinned, grabbing the notebook he had brought with him and jotting down notes to put in the Archives later.

"I didn't take you for a jewellry man."

Ianto glanced up from his notebook. "What?"

Nia indicated the leather bracelet, quite visible after Ianto had pulled his sleeves up. "You don't seem like the kind of bloke to wear any kind of jewellry."

"I don't." Ianto rolled his shoulders to relieve aching muscles. "Jack likes it on me, though, so I kept it. I barely notice it nowadays."

Her eyes twinkled. "Jack and leather. Why am I not surprised?"

Ianto smiled. "There's not much that can surprise people when it comes to Jack's preferences."

"Meaning he has none?"

"Life is one big orgy with that man." If Jack had his way, earth would be a clothes-optional zone.

"So Jack decided to give you the bracelet to remind you of that fact?"

"Oh, Jack didn't give me the bracelet." He put down the notebook. "Somebody else gave it to me, a little girl—"

And just like that, lightning struck. Ianto nearly staggered at the stunning realization as he stared at his bracelet.

"Ianto?" Nia looked at him worriedly, reaching out to grab his arm. She had been informed about the dangers of Ianto's pregnancy and kept a close watch on him whenever they were together.

"Oh, _fuck_." Ianto turned around and moved as fast as possible.

Nia stayed by his side. "Where are you going? What's wrong?"

"I need to talk to Jack." Ianto quickly yanked the bracelet off his wrist. "And I need to talk to him now."

* * *

><p>Ianto was breathing heavily by the time he reached the boardroom, but he ignored Nia's scolding to slow down. Jack was rising out of the chair he was occupying when Ianto entered.<p>

"Ianto?" Apparently realizing that Ianto was too tired to answer, Jack looked at Nia even as he quickly reached Ianto's side. "What happened?"

Nia shrugged as Terry reached them, immediately checking Ianto to see if he was okay. "I asked about the bracelet, and he suddenly said he needed to talk to you."

He batted the doctor's hands away. Ianto tossed the leather bracelet on the table. "Ichtaca," he blurted once he got his breath back. "I didn't even realize—Ichtaca gave me the bracelet."

Jack looked at the bracelet. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. That's why she looked so familiar when I saw her at the bakery." Ianto's only excuse for taking this long to figure it out was that his first meeting with Ichtaca lasted only about ten seconds, and it was at least three months before he saw her again at the bakery. By that time, Ianto had other things on his mind.

Gwen picked up the bracelet, studying it. "Doesn't seem to be alien."

"Which makes it the perfect weapon." Jack took the bracelet and moved it around, looking at it at every angle.

"But it's small," Terry said.

"Just because it's small doesn't mean it isn't effective." Jack tossed it to Nia. "Scan it, see what it's made out of. Gwen, go with her."

As the women left, Ianto turned to Jack. "Maybe that's how she always knows where I am. Something in the bracelet must be tracking my movements."

Jack looked at him grimly. "That's my thinking as well."

In a much slower pace, Ianto left the boardroom with Terry on one side and Jack on the other. Jack had a hand on his elbow while Terry kept an eye out for Ianto's health. "I thought she knew where you were because of the baby, that she sensed it or something," Terry said.

"That's what I thought, but she never outright said that she sensed the baby, she just knew that it was growing and where I was."

Which meant that all this time, Ianto had been carrying a tracker on his person, always easily found at Ichtaca's leisure. Maybe that was why she had been biding her time, why she hadn't kidnapped him as soon as she could. She had always known where he was.

When they reached the main hub, Nia lifted the bracelet. "Tracker on one of the charms."

"There's something else." Gwen nodded towards the computer screen. "The scanner picked up alien life forms on it."

Ianto frowned and looked at the bracelet Nia still held. "Life forms?"

Terry made his way to the computer, his medical mind taking a vast interest. He typed a few keys, reading the images that appeared. From Ianto's vantage point, he saw what looked like white worms wriggling around.

"More like organisms." Terry grabbed the handheld scanner Nia held, running it over Ianto's wrist where he had worn the bracelet. "Faint traces of it on your skin. Very faint, actually. If I wasn't looking for it, I wouldn't have noticed."

"Which means what?" Ianto looked at his skin. He didn't know why, he knew he wasn't going to see any organisms.

Jack grabbed the scanner to look at it himself. He stayed quiet for one long moment before he quietly muttered, "Son of a bitch."

"Jack?" Ianto tugged at his arm. "What does that mean? Am I okay? The baby?"

"Fertility drug." Jack turned the scanner off and grabbed the bracelet. "Fucking hell, I should've realized it sooner. Too small for our equipment to detect it unless we're looking for it."

"I don't understand. What do you mean by fertility drug?"

Jack sighed and walked a few paces away before turning around to stare at them all. "In the fifty-first century, one of the ways that a pure human man can get pregnant is by taking fertility drugs that will make him capable of conceiving. Most fertility drugs involved organisms that were combined with or created by alien DNA. Once the drug is given to the man wishing to conceive, the organisms in that drug combine the DNA of both men in order to create the embryo." He slapped his thigh, looking furious. "I should've known what she meant when she said drugs."

"And these are the same organisms?" Gwen asked.

"Doubt it. There are billions of organisms out there." Jack grabbed Ianto's wrist, examining the bare skin. "The only thing I can't figure out is how they gave you the drugs. Doctors in the fifty-first century gave the men shots."

"Skin transfer, most likely," Terry answered. He was studying the organisms on the screen with acute fascination. "The bracelet was constantly rubbing against the skin of his wrist. The organisms probably managed to transfer onto Ianto's skin and crawled right in."

"And they activated the pregnancy gene." Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "It was right under our noses."

"Do the organisms do anything besides activate the gene?" Terry looked at Ianto worriedly even as he asked Jack the question. "Like help ensure the foetus doesn't die inside the sac?" Even as he asked, he grabbed Ianto's arm and began to pull him towards the medical bay.

"I don't know." Jack frowned and followed them.

"What are you doing?" Ianto asked as Terry guided him down the steps.

"Remember when you were indecisive about keeping the baby, and you mentioned that whatever allowed you to get pregnant might have also changed your biology just enough to help you carry the foetus?" Terry lifted the bracelet. "If these organisms got you pregnant, they might also be the thing helping the pregnancy progress with few complications. Other than your immune system trying to kill the baby, you haven't suffered any other big dangers."

"But doesn't fertility drug mean that its only job is to enhance fertility?"

"Yeah, but these are alien fertility drugs. The organisms' job might extend to other areas. For all we know, you might need to wear the bracelet for the duration of your pregnancy so your body can continue to carry the baby."

That made sense. "So I have to wear the bracelet?" Ianto looked at the piece of leather with new eyes. What was once a kinky piece of jewellry was now an offending piece of material.

"Maybe. I just want to run a few tests."

"What about the tracker?" Nia asked from the top of the medical bay. "Shouldn't we deactivate it? If he's had that bracelet for months, they know he's here."

"No, they don't." Jack clambered down the steps to be with him. "Ichtaca knows he's in the general area, but the hub transmits a bouncing signal. Any coordinates they have would've directed them to surface of the Plass, not below it." He looked down at Ianto. "Explains why she kept looking for you when I was talking to her. She thought you were on the surface."

Ianto nodded. He has known about the bouncing signal since his early days at Torchwood Three. He looked up at Nia and Gwen. "I'm safe here in the hub even with the tracker activated. She won't find me. If anything, she'll think I'm in an invisible suit walking around the Plass."

"Talk about this later." Terry pointed at Ianto's upper body. "You know the drill. Off."

The tests didn't take long to perform, but waiting for the results took more than two hours. Blood was taken and scans were made before Ianto was sent away, leaving Terry alone to try to figure out if the organisms on the bracelet were playing a larger role in the pregnancy's progression. The only time Terry emerged from the medical bay was to ask Ianto if he could remember exactly what day he received the bracelet. When Ianto gave him his answer, the doctor returned to the medical bay.

Ianto was eating lunch in the boardroom with Jack and the girls when Terry entered with sheets of papers in one hand and the bracelet in the other. "The organisms have nothing to do with the progression of the pregnancy." He tossed the bracelet to Jack and placed the papers on the table. "You don't need to wear the bracelet anymore."

"You sure?" Ianto asked as he slid the papers closer so he could skim through them.

"Studied the biochemistry processes of your body and there's only one difference that I found." He paused as he took the papers back from Ianto and shuffled through them. He grabbed a sheet and placed it on the table. "I think I found the pregnancy gene." He pointed at the paper, making everyone lean in a little. Ianto saw images that reminded him of diagrams found in science books that detailed DNA. "This little stretch in your DNA is different. The sequence of nucleotides encoded in this segment is no longer the same when compared to the sequence in Ianto's DNA found in blood taken last year. At first I thought that this is the reason why your body is able to carry the foetus, but when I made more comparisons with other blood samples, it turns out that this gene was changed before conception."

He rocked back on the balls of his feet. "That's why I asked when you got the bracelet. I remember taking a blood sample when I first got here. That was about a week before conception."

Ianto remembered. Jack, Gwen, and Ianto had been given thorough examinations on the doctor's first day so Terry could have his own set of medical records for the team rather than rely solely on the medical records that had been created by Owen.

"Shouldn't this take years to figure out?" Nia asked, looking perplexed by the information. "I'm no scientist or doctor, but it takes years for scientists to discover new things about the human body, doesn't it?"

"Not when I have alien tech to help me do comparisons, and the only reason I discovered the altered gene is because the alien tech told me something was different." Terry snagged a slice of pizza from the opened pizza box. "The organisms' job was to alter that gene so you could get pregnant, and nothing more."

That's what Ianto figured. He appreciated Terry looking into it, though.

"So what do we do now?" Gwen asked, wiping at her mouth with a napkin. She leaned back in her chair.

Jack studied the bracelet in his hand. "Think you can deactivate the tracker?" he asked Nia.

"Sure."

Jack ripped the charms from the bracelet and tossed them to her. She got up and left the boardroom.

"Deactivating the tracker won't stop them" Ianto bit his lip, rubbing his wrist. He had grown so accustomed to the bracelet that his wrist felt naked without it. "If my body and this baby has all the answers to their problems, they're not going to give up, not when I'm the only man who's carried a baby this far."

"They'll know the places you most frequently visit," Gwen pointed out. "Including your flat. They might not be able to find you at their leisure, but they might decide to stake out these places, wait for you to show up."

"They'll make a grab at you the first chance they get." Jack noticeably moved his chair a little closer to Ianto, as if that would be enough to keep him safe.

Ianto thought about all the places he frequented nearly every week: the market, the bakery, the drycleaners, and his own home. He had assumed that Ichtaca would be able to sense his presence no matter where he went, which was why he hadn't bothered finding other establishments to run his errands, but it now seemed wise to change his routines and his destinations.

The most pressing issue was his flat. He hadn't finished deciding if he wanted to move or not, but now he had no choice. He needed to find a new place to live.

"Okay." Jack turned to Terry, who was finishing his second slice of pizza. "I want you to take the bracelet and study the organisms more. They might be useful, especially if the organisms originated from the Yamni and not some other species. I want to see if maybe we can use them against Ichtaca and her friends, just in case."

Ianto heard what Jack didn't say: in case the Yamni achieved their goal and captured Ianto.

Terry nodded and caught the bracelet when Jack threw it at him. He left the boardroom.

"Gwen."

Gwen straightened in her seat, looking like a true soldier ready for her orders. There was a reason why she was second-in-command. Headstrong and compassionate she may be, but she was almost always ready to follow orders, particularly when it involved close friends. "What do you need?"

"Those men who were kidnapped. Find any of them?"

"A lot of them are dead, but I found a few who are still alive."

"Any of them in Cardiff so we can talk to them?"

"No, but I'm trying to hunt down others."

"Keep looking, then."

As soon as Gwen departed, Jack turned to Ianto. "How are you doing?"

"All right, I suppose." The look Jack gave him was enough to let Ianto know that Jack didn't believe him. Ianto decided to be honest. "This is a lot to take in."

"I know." Jack stood and helped Ianto to his feet. "How about we go downstairs and just lie down? Maybe watch TV or a movie or something."

Ianto began collecting the pizza boxes, putting all the leftover pizza on a plate to put away. "I'm a bit too restless for that." They walked out of the boardroom with Jack now carrying the boxes and Ianto carrying the leftover pizza. "I need to find a new flat, and soon."

"I thought you had a few months left on your lease."

"I do, but I would rather pay off the rest of the lease than stay there and risk Ichtaca taking me."

They reached the main hub where Ianto spied Nia working on the tiny charms in her workstation.

"How are we doing?" Jack asked when they neared her.

"Having a bit of trouble, but I think I'm getting close to finding the off button for these things."

Ianto glanced at her as he continued to the kitchenette to put the few slices away. Nia's brows were furrowed, looking a bit impatient.

"Does the tracker give off a signal we can trace back to the Yamni?" Ianto heard Jack ask her.

Nia glanced up. "There's some kind of signal, but I don't know if I can trace it. I can save it on the computer before I deactivate it, that way I can trace the signal without needing the tracker on."

Jack was quiet for a few seconds, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Change of plans, don't deactivate it. Not yet, at least. I want them to think Ianto's here for a while. Try to trace back the signal, see if we can find a location on the Yamni. I'll let you know when you can deactivate it."

Jack went to the kitchenette and placed the empty boxes on the counter. "You sure you don't want to go downstairs?"

"Yes." Ianto walked towards the nearest available computer.

"You should get off your feet."

Ianto waved that suggestion away. "I have other things to worry about." He quickly brought up listings for available flats.

"Like moving out of your flat?" Jack shifted until he stood by Ianto's side, peering at the computer screen. He briefly placed a hand on Ianto's lower back, the touch both possessive and reassuring.

"Yes. I've been considering the prospect for a while, but since Ichtaca knows where I live, I won't be comfortable in my own home, especially when she realizes that I'm no longer easy to find."

"You can stay here," Jack suggested. "We can widen the room I made for you, knock down walls and expand so it can be a flat."

Ianto immediately dismissed that idea. "I need a place away from Torchwood, a real home."

Jack crossed his arms while Ianto scrolled down the available offerings. "Any idea on what you want?"

"Two bedrooms, so the baby can have his own room."

"Ooh, we can paint Salted Peanut's walls with nice scenery. Did I ever tell you that I have artistic abilities?"

Ianto snorted. "Stick figures don't count." He typed in his preferences to shrink down the listings to a more manageable level. "I want something on the top floor. I don't like dealing with people making noise upstairs."

"Whatever you do, make sure the bedroom has a big enough closet, and a big bathroom."

"I don't need that much room."

Jack was silent for a moment. "_You_ don't, but _we_ do. I need enough space to put my clothes in."

His head jerked around so fast, he was surprised it hadn't snapped. He stared wide-eyed at Jack. "Excuse me?"

His lover was carefully looking at the computer screen, his expression deceptively bland. "And I like a big bathroom, maybe with a separate bath so we can bathe together. And wooden floors in the living room, much easier to clean—"

Ianto sputtered. "Are you—Is this your backward way of asking to come live with me? Like _live_ live? Not just keep a few items at mine?"

Jack huffed, his bland expression changing into one of slight embarrassment. "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? We're having a kid together, so we should live together. Makes things easier."

"So you're doing this because of the baby." Ianto turned back to the computer. "Jack, I told you that I didn't want you to change, and that includes forcing yourself to live with me just to be there for the baby. I'll bring him here on occasion when it isn't too dangerous, and you're always welcome at my home."

Jack grabbed Ianto's shoulders and turned him around so they could face each other. He faintly heard Gwen tapping away on her keyboard as Jack ensured that they made eye contact. Ianto could see determination in Jack's expression, a striking contrast to the shadow of discomfort that flickered in and out of his eyes. Whatever Jack was about to say, Ianto knew it was being said not because Jack particularly wanted to, but because he thought he had to.

"I'm not doing this just for the baby. The idea of us living together appeals to me. The hub doesn't actually need to be watched twenty-four hours a day now that I'm not waiting for the Doctor. I can always monitor the rift via my wrist strap. I do it half the time when I'm at your place anyway."

"But Jack—"

Jack interrupted him. "I've lived in the hub for so long—it's a place to sleep, sure, and yes, in some ways its home, but it gets lonely when no one is here." He hesitated before adding, "And staying at your place kind of feels like home, too. I'm thinking that has something to do with you being there."

Ianto felt his knees shake a little before he managed to firm them. First the committed partners conversation, then Jack's decision to stop flirting with others in front of him (a promise he had kept so far), and now Jack was asking in his own odd way for them to move in together. Jack wasn't the best at verbal communication when it came to his feelings, so it slightly frightened him to hear Jack, of all people, be the one to bring these topics up.

But things were happening so fast in such a short amount of time, and while these conversations helped Ianto categorize their relationship into something more substantial, it hadn't escaped his notice that the timing of all these offerings occurred only after his pregnancy had been discovered. It fed a new fear that Jack was doing this not for Ianto, but only because of the baby. Despite Jack's words, Ianto couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for the baby, Ianto would still be navigating through thick peanut butter, with their relationship unlabelled and leaving Ianto unsure of where he stood with Jack.

"Don't you think we're doing things a little too quickly?" he asked in an attempt to delay giving Jack a concrete answer.

"This is Torchwood. We don't know how much time we have for anything. Speed is the way to go." When Ianto didn't answer, Jack tilted his head to the side, giving him a curious look. "You don't want to live together? I mean, we don't have to, but—"

"It's just that I don't see you living anywhere other than the hub," Ianto hastily said. "And I'm afraid that living together would change you—"

It was Jack's turn to interrupt him. "Why are you afraid that I'm going to change?"

"Because this isn't you!" Ianto blurted out. "Not too long ago you told me that you don't like labels, and now you're saying that we are committed partners and that you want us to live together. The Jack Harkness I know would've been happy to refuse giving our relationship a label, happy to stay at my place a few nights a week, and definitely happy to continue flirting and seducing other people without worrying about my feelings."

"Wow. You make me sound like a real scumbag."

Ianto groaned. "That's not what I meant."

"I know." Jack grabbed his hands and squeezed them. "I have a lot of different sides to me, and I admit that I've only shown a couple of them to the outside world. But you've seen more of me than any other, and now I'm showing you a new side."

Ianto bit his tongue before he asked if this new side was emerging only because of the baby rather than the person carrying it. After all, if Ianto played a role in this new side coming out, why hadn't Jack shown it sooner? Why did he wait until now?

Jack took his silence as an invitation to continue. "If we live together, I'll probably still go out on occasion at night when I'm restless or when I need to clear my thoughts, and I can't promise I'll always be there to hold you when you wake up or be at your side when you go to sleep, especially if someone absolutely has to be here at the hub. I'm messy, hate doing laundry, and can't really cook without burning something. But I want that. The domestic thing."

Ianto laughed shakily. "Somehow I don't think we'll ever be able to fit into the traditional domestic scene, even with a baby." With their jobs, serene domesticity will practically be nonexistent.

"So is that a yes to the big closet?" Jack asked.

Ianto hesitated. "Are you sure about this? I don't want you to regret it."

"I won't." Jack sounded very sure about that.

"And you really want to do this?"

"You, me, and Salted Peanut, I want all of us to live together."

Jack sounded so sincere, and any resistance Ianto had to the plan crumbled as easily as a stack of playing cards, because at the end of the day, he wanted that as well. A flash of the conversation he and Jack had about Ianto accepting less than what he deserved without asking for more appeared in his mind's eye. A part of him urged him not to make any decisions on moving in together until he was confident of Jack's motives, but if Jack was using pretty words to hide the fact that he was doing this only because he was pregnant, then Ianto really didn't want to hear that admission.

Ianto damned his cowardice and insecurities.

He took a deep breath, repressed the whisper that told him not to do it, and took the plunge. "All right, then. If you're sure, I suppose we can give it a go."

Jack kissed him, looking happy at his acceptance. "Find something close by." Jack ran a thumb down Ianto's cheek. "I don't want to be too far from the hub."

"Of course. Walking distance, if possible. I would have to talk my building's owner, ask to break the lease."

"I can make some calls and get that taken care of, so you might not even have to pay anything." Jack rubbed Ianto's belly. "I'd rather we move in sooner rather than later. In the meantime, stay here in the hub. We could put your furniture in storage. So long as the Yamni think that you're here, they won't be staking out your flat."

"Great." Ianto turned to his computer. "I'll search for flats—"

"Use my laptop in my office. You can sit in the leather chair."

"I can easily look for flats on this computer."

"But the chair keeps you off your feet. You need to rest."

"I don't need to be on bed rest, Jack." Overprotective indeed. Ianto glared.

"The baby is putting pressure on your organs." Jack grabbed his arm and forcefully steered him in the direction of Jack's office. "The more you rest, the less likely Salted Peanut will try to come out sooner than he should, and the less likely that something will rupture. Don't you want the baby to come out full-term?"

"That is a low blow, using my child against me."

"Whatever works," Jack said cheerfully. He settled Ianto in the chair and moved the laptop closer so it can be within reach. "Let me know what you find. We can check them out."

When Jack turned to leave, Ianto asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna check the hub for any weak spots that could allow any of the Yamni entry into the hub. If they snoop around long enough, or realize that the signal they're getting isn't the right one, they might find a way in. I want to avoid that."

"Out of curiosity, how am I supposed to get out without tipping them off that I work underground? They might see me leave the tourist office and find the hidden wall, or maybe figure out that we've been using the perception filter and that the slab takes us down."

Jack nodded. "There's a tunnel about a mile and a half long. The exit is far enough for us to get out without any of them seeing us. We can also use it to get back in." Jack leaned down and kissed his temple. "Get cracking on finding us a home." He walked out backwards, pointing a finger at him. "Get windows in the living room like the ones you have at your flat."

With that said, he left. Ianto sighed as he opened the laptop and began to search for a new home.

* * *

><p>"Remember that crib we saw at the shop the other day?"<p>

Jack halted at the threshold of his office, dumbfounded by the question. "What?"

Ianto didn't look up from the screen of the laptop. "The crib. The hardwood mahogany one."

"Yes, I remember it." Jack walked into the office. "Why?"

"You liked it, right?"

"Of course. I told you that. Why?"

"Because I'm about to buy it." Ianto finally looked up. "I found it online at a discount. They'll deliver it here."

"Okay," Jack said slowly. "What happened to looking at flats?"

"I looked already. I emailed you a list with links so you can look at the pictures. I made sure to include both of our preferences. The two on top of the list are promising." Ianto returned to the screen.

"So what are you doing?"

"Looking at baby things." He touched a notepad that sat next to the laptop. "I made a list, but I wanted the crib. They were almost sold out. Just wanted to make sure you liked it."

"Ah." Jack smirked. He had only been gone for an hour to secure the hub (he looked at every spot that could be seen as a point of entry for the Yamni), and apparently within that hour, Ianto had gone from looking at flats to looking at baby items.

Jack grabbed the list to read what was there. "You already have a list at your flat."

"This is another list. A baby needs a lot of things."

"Baby wipe warmers?" Jack lifted his brows. "What is that?"

"Exactly what it says. It's a little machine that keeps the wipes warm so they won't be cold when we use them on the baby." He grinned at him. "Don't worry, I didn't know what it was either until I saw a picture of it and a little video describing how it works."

Jack's brows lifted even more when he saw another item on the list. "Ianto, what the hell is a glider chair?"

"It's a like a rocking chair, except it has a base attached to the bottom of the chair that makes it move forward and back in a smooth glide, in contrast to the rocking chair that moves up and down."

"Okay," Jack said slowly. Did it really make a difference what direction the chair moved? He didn't think so. "I don't think we need a glider chair."

Ianto frowned. "It will help the baby fall asleep."

"So will a rocking chair." Jack put the list down and circled the desk. "Don't you think you are going a bit overboard?"

"I want the best for the baby."

Jack spun the chair around and crouched in front of him. "Ianto." That was all he said, and he waited.

Ianto huffed slightly. "Okay, I'm panicking a little."

"Why?"

"I decided to browse around a few websites and I found all these things and it suddenly hit me that I really don't know what a baby needs." He crossed his arms, an expression that was almost petulant. "So I listed everything." Jack opened his mouth, but Ianto added, "I know, it's stupid and it's paranoid." He scowled. "Don't judge me."

Jack laughed. "I'm not judging you. Believe me, I freaked out when my wife was pregnant. First-time parent jitters."

"I don't like it. I feel out of control. And stupid."

Jack stood up and leaned on the desk, turning the laptop towards him. "It's not stupid." He typed in a phrase in the search engine, and clicked on the first link at the top. "So why don't we start with this." He turned the laptop back towards Ianto.

Ianto read the website's banner. "Top ten things babies don't need?"

"Yup. A baby doesn't really need as much as you think." Jack smiled. It was quite a turnaround. Not too long ago Ianto hadn't wanted to buy things because he was afraid there would be no baby to give them to, and now Ianto wanted to buy more than they needed because he was panicking. Poor Ianto. Jack knew how much Ianto liked to keep his emotions under control, and this pregnancy was making it difficult for him to do so. "It's going to work out," he promised. "You just need to relax."

"Easy for you to say. You've been through this. I haven't." Ianto read the website that Jack found. Then he grabbed his notepad and began crossing things out. "Okay, so maybe a glider isn't necessary . . ."

"That a boy."

"That is so condescending," Ianto muttered.

Before Jack could reply, Nia walked into the office. She lifted the tracker. "I managed to trace the signal, but the coordinates keep changing.

Jack straightened. "What do you mean?"

"I found one set of coordinates, but I wanted to double-check so I did. The coordinates were different. I double-checked the new set of coordinates, but then I was given a new set of coordinates." She walked further into the office. "I dug a little deeper to figure out why the coordinates kept changing, so I brought up a map, and it turns out that the coordinates I kept getting were satellites. The earth's satellites." She sighed. "Ichtaca and her friends used our satellites to keep track of you, Ianto."

"So it's useless." Ianto slumped against the chair.

"Not necessarily." Jack clamped a hand on Ianto's shoulder, reassuring him. "To use our satellites, they need to connect to them, thereby giving their own transmission."

Nia nodded in agreement with Jack's words. "I'll still look into it. It's not going to be easy. It's complicated, and my knowledge of computers isn't as grand as my knowledge of weapons, but for them to use our satellites, they need to be close enough to connect to them." She smiled. "No more speculations. They are definitely in our solar system."

* * *

><p>Over the course of the next two weeks, small rift spikes began to appear in the locations of the establishments Ianto used to frequent, but none of the coordinates were as active as the coordinates that appeared around the general area of the hub.<p>

Rather than deactivate the tracker completely, Jack had Nia continuously turn it on and off to throw the Yamni off the trail, but it became clear that the Yamni caught on because now they were simply staking out the same places Ianto used to go to, including his old flat. Jack was glad that Ianto no longer lived there and that all his stuff was waiting in storage while they checked out the potential flats that Ianto had found.

Jack brought Ianto a cup of tea while the younger man mulled over their top two choices of flats to live in. They had already seen both and each one seemed perfect.

"So have you decided?"

Ianto placed the pile of papers on his belly as he accepted the cup of tea. "The room for the nursery in the first flat is bigger, but the price on the second flat is more reasonable."

Jack waved that concern away. "I'll be sharing costs, and my bank balance is pretty big." A long life meant his bank account had accumulated quite a lot over the years. He sat on the couch next to him and grabbed the pile of papers. "Of course I would be more than happy to take over the rent." Jack grinned. "You can be my boy toy."

Ianto snorted and lightly slapped Jack on the arm. "Like that's ever going to happen. I want us to live as equals."

"Yes, yes, I know." The first time Jack had suggested that he take care of any financial matters, Ianto had blasted him with a long lecture of how he had no desire to become anyone's "kept man." "Even though I can easily take care of all of this," he muttered. He cleared his throat when Ianto glared at him. "But there's nothing wrong with splitting bills." He kissed Ianto's cheek and glanced over the information for the first flat before looking over the information for the second. "First one has a nicer view."

"But the second one has a big bedroom."

"Big bedroom means big bed."

Ianto rolled his eyes at Jack's dirty smile. "No, it means bigger cupboard. You're the one that said we would need a big cupboard."

Jack studied both prospects. "The one with the view," he decided. The picture of the flat's interior showed the living room containing a wall-length window, much like the window Ianto's current flat contained, but the view from the new flat would be better because they would be living on the top floor.

"Figured you would choose that one." Ianto sipped his tea. "It would satisfy your penchant for brooding on roofs. The flat wouldn't necessarily be as high as your more favorite brooding spots, but close enough."

Jack raised his arm to drape it over Ianto's shoulders, putting aside the papers and letting his head fall back, closing his eyes. Somewhere up above Myfanwy squawked. Probably restless. Other than that, and the humming of the machinery, the hub was quiet.

"Tired?" Ianto rested his head on Jack's shoulder.

Jack made a sound of the affirmative. "Didn't realize how exhausting it is to feed our guests in the cells."

"And Myfanwy."

"She's not so bad. Feed her a couple of steaks and she's content for the day until she goes out at night to catch her own dinner. But the Weevils . . ." His groan said it all.

"Now you know what I go through every night."

Yes, he did. Every time Jack tried to feed the Weevils and the few rogue aliens that occupied the cells downstairs, they almost always made attempts to launch out of their cells the moment he opened the door. It was tiring. He didn't know how Ianto did it. And feeding their guests was just one duty on top of many other duties Ianto performed each day: making the coffee, filing the paperwork, archiving, cleaning up the hub, ordering lunch and dinner, research, fielding calls from irate Prime Ministers . . .

He opened his eyes. In addition to all those duties, Ianto would soon have a little baby to take care of. Jack would be there to help, but having a baby was a lot of responsibility. Ianto wouldn't have the time to take care of all of his normal duties as well as the duties that would accompany Salted Peanut's birth, no matter how much Jack helped out.

Jack had originally planned to hire just two more people, a police liaison and a computer technician who could understand the various programs that the mainframe held, and perhaps even create a few of his or her own that would benefit the hub in much the same way Tosh's special projects had led to the rift predictor program and the time lock; plus, there was a lot of alien tech the computer technician could deal with. However, he was starting to think that they were going to need a third person, someone who could share Ianto's title of general support. It would split the workload between the two, giving Ianto a bit of a break. Jack would wait until after the baby was born to see how Ianto felt about that. There was another thing he was considering, but he suspected Ianto wouldn't respond well to his idea.

He took in Ianto's pliant body leaning against his, relaxed and happy. This was probably a good time to bring it up. A happy Ianto was easier to negotiate with. "I've been thinking," he started slowly, "that we should adjust some of your duties."

"I thought we already did," Ianto murmured. "No feeding the hub's residents and no fieldwork until the baby is born."

"I'm talking about after the baby is born."

Ianto lifted his head to frown at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're going to have a lot on your plate once Salted Peanut's here, so I was thinking that a few adjustments need to be made on what you do around here."

Ianto pulled away to look at him suspiciously. "Do I want to know what these so-called adjustments are?"

"It's just a suggestion," Jack quickly added, "and you don't have to do it if you don't want to, but I think it'd be best if we take you off fieldwork—permanently."

He expected a blow-up. It was no secret that Ianto hated being useless to the team, and Jack was well aware that fieldwork was one thing that made him feel useful.

But the expected yelling never came. Instead, Ianto pursed his lips slightly. "Why?"

"Why?" Jack repeated.

"Yes, why? There are other things I do, but why take me off fieldwork?"

Jack hadn't actually expected to explain the reasoning behind his suggestion. "Do you want to continue going into the field?"

"That isn't answering the question." Ianto's eyes narrowed. "Are you crossing the line?"

"What line?"

"The professional and personal line we agreed not to cross at certain times."

Oh, _that_ line. "I think we've done more than crossed it, Ianto." Jack reached out to cup the protrusion of Ianto's belly, rubbing soothing circles around the round shape.

"You know what I mean."

"Look, I suggested it because I think it would be best that both of Salted Peanut's parents live long enough to see his eighteenth birthday, okay?" At Ianto's stare, Jack muttered a curse before confessing, "And yes, I'm completely crossing the line and using this as an excuse to keep my lover alive for as long as possible." He drew Ianto close to hug him with one arm even as he continued to rub Ianto's stomach. "I send you out on missions and retrievals because I have to, but it doesn't mean I like it. The statistics say that most Torchwood operatives don't live past the age of thirty, and that's mostly accurate, but a lot of those deaths occurred in the field. I'm not saying that the hub doesn't witness its share of deaths, but most operatives die out there." He touched their foreheads together. "You're going to die someday whether I like it or not, but if I can find a way to keep you off the field without compromising my position as leader or without making it seem like I'm putting our relationship before the job, then I'll do it."

"Technically, you _are_ putting our relationship before the job."

"No, because technically I'm putting our son before the job and it just so happens to have the added bonus of keeping my lover a little safer than the other Torchwood operatives."

Ianto lowered his gaze, his expression contemplative. "And this means I won't be expected or required to go out and do any kind of fieldwork?"

After a slight hesitation, he reluctantly amended, "Not when it involves danger that could get you killed. Tiny simple stuff, maybe."

More silence. Then: "All right."

Jack was surprised. "All right?"

Ianto nodded. "It will give me more time with the baby, and I won't have to worry about suddenly being called out to the field and having no one available to watch him."

Jack exhaled a sigh of relief. He had expected a full-blown argument, not this easy acceptance. He kissed Ianto.

Pulling back, Ianto gave him a sheepish smile. "I never really liked fieldwork much anyway."

"I know." Jack rested his head on Ianto's shoulder, feeling the baby kick under his hand. "But I wondered if your sense of duty would win over your desire to stay out of the field."

He gazed down at Ianto's stomach. He was so big now. God, Jack couldn't wait. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so excited.

"So are we still going to call him Salted Peanut?"

Ianto laughed and shook his head as Jack lifted his own head off Ianto's shoulder. "I have a few names. Neil, I like that name. And Bran, it means raven."

Jack's phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID before answering. "Hi, Gwen. Miss me already? It's only been thirty minutes since you left."

"Ichtaca is watching my flat."

Jack's grin drained. "You sure?"

"We're having a bit of a staring contest right now. I'm watching her from my window."

"You there by yourself?"

"Rhys is here." There was some murmuring in the background. "He says he doesn't see her."

"She probably only wants you to see her." Ianto was making hand signals, indicating he wanted to know what was going on. He grabbed Ianto's hands, lowering them. "Do you know if Nia and Terry are being watched as well?" he asked her.

"I don't know."

Jack really didn't want to stress Ianto out, but this wasn't something he could keep from him. He covered the mouthpiece on his phone. "Call Nia and Terry, ask them where they are." He reached for Ianto's phone that sat on the little table in front of the couch.

"Why?"

"Just do it, I'll explain in a minute." He handed him the phone.

Ianto hesitated before he flipped it opened and called the others.

Jack spoke into the mouthpiece of his phone. "She still there?"

"Yep." Gwen muttered something in Welsh. "Spoiled my dinner, she did."

Ianto called Nia first and Terry after, their conversations brief and quick. "Terry says some man is standing outside his home, but Nia's at her boyfriend's house and doesn't see anyone outside."

Jack got off the couch and quickly strode to the nearest computer. He found Nia's home, and sure enough, there was a red dot in her home's location. The homes of Gwen and Terry also had red dots. The remaining three dots were above the hub in the Plass.

"Tell Nia to stay at her boyfriend's house. I think she's safe there," he told Ianto before speaking into his phone. "Is she doing anything? Any signals or using her powers?"

"She's just standing there." Gwen growled slightly. "I don't like it when Torchwood invades my personal life, Harkness."

Meaning she didn't like having danger so close to home. Gwen was as protective of Rhys as he was of her. Mess with one of them and you mess with both.

"We'll figure it out." Fuck, how many times had he said those same exact words since this all started? They haven't really figured out much, and they certainly hadn't figured out a way to get rid of the Yamni.

"Jack!"

He turned around to see Ianto struggling to get to his feet, phone glued to his ear. Jack returned to the couch, clamping one hand on Ianto's shoulder to keep him seated. "What is it?"

"The man is mouthing something."

Jack turned to his phone. "Gwen, is Ichtaca moving her mouth?"

"Yes, but I don't know what she's saying without walking up to her."

"Don't."

There was silence for several seconds before Gwen released a sigh. "She's gone."

Jack turned to Ianto. "Is the man still there?" When Ianto repeated the question into the phone, he shook his head a second later. Jack checked the rift spikes on the computer, breathing his own sigh of relief when the areas surrounding his team's homes were clear of any of the Yamni signatures. "Gwen, looks like they're out of your area. Keep an eye out, though, and call me if anything happens."

He hanged up the phone, turning to Ianto. "Terry's area is clear. Tell him to keep watch and to call if the man returns."

Ianto spoke into the phone, stayed silent for a moment, then cupped the mouthpiece and said, "Terry recorded the man. He's emailing the clip to us."

Jack's brows furrowed. "Why? Videos don't catch them."

"It occurred to Terry that one of the reasons why they don't appear on the CCTV is because they're aware of the cameras, know where they are, and hide themselves from them. Terry's theory suggests that they might not be able to hide themselves if they don't know they are being recorded."

Jack turned back to the computer and opened his email. Terry's email was the first one on the top and he opened the attachment. "We got it. Tell him we'll keep him posted."

A shaky but clear video clip began to play. Jack could hear Terry's heavy breathing as he zoomed in on the blond, thin man standing across the street, his dark gaze glowing gold. Jack focused on the moving mouth, trying to figure out what he was saying, but Jack wasn't all that great at lip reading.

Ianto appeared beside him, looking at the clip as well. Then he leaned against Jack. "Give him to us," he whispered, "or you die."

Jack should have known Ianto could read lips. Ianto always popped up with these tiny talents. Jack wrapped an arm around him. "They're desperate now that they can't find you."

"What are we going to do?"

Jack opened his mouth, ready to say "we'll figure something out," but he snapped his mouth closed. He decided to stick with the truth. "I don't know."

"How did they even know where they are? I thought they were just following me." Ianto looked up at him. "Do you think they somehow managed to put tracking devices on them, too?"

"It's possible, but they've seen you with all three of them at one point or another. It's also possible they managed to track down their locations once they realized you vanished from their radar."

"Jack, I don't want the others hurt because of me."

"I won't let them get hurt."

"You can't protect all of us at the same time. Someone is bound to get hurt." Ianto bit his lip, looking worried and a little bit frightened. He rested his hands on his stomach. "What if I hand myself over to them?"

"No." Jack was firm, brooking no argument.

"I mean after the baby is born," Ianto explained, as if the fact that he was pregnant was Jack's issue for not considering his suggestion. "I know they want the baby, but maybe I can convince them that I'm worth taking—"

"Ianto—"

"They're not going to stop, Jack. They threatened you, they threatened the others—they're not going to stop. Eventually they're going to find a way to get to me and when they do they'll take my baby." Ianto curled a little, hugging his stomach as best he could. "We have to keep everyone safe. If we convince them that I'm the better option, maybe they'll back off until the baby is born."

"And then what, you'll just walk into their spaceship and go wherever the hell they want to take you?" The very idea angered him. "I will not let them take you."

"But at what cost, Jack? They want this baby so bad, they might kill the others, and if they do, they'll come after you, and then who will be left to stand by me if all of you are dead?" Ianto's words were eerily similar to those Ichtaca had spoken, giving rise to goose pimples on Jack's arms.

"We have to convince them that I'm a much better candidate for them to take," Ianto continued, "even if I'm not important—"

"Is that what you think?" Jack snapped, angry and frustrated by the whole damn situation. "That you're not important?"

"I'm not as important as this baby." Ianto sounded absolutely certain about that.

"That's where you're wrong. You're just as important to me as the baby is. Nothing matters more to me than you and Salted Peanut. Nothing." He lifted his hands to cup Ianto's cheeks. "Why can't you understand that?"

Ianto reached up to grasp Jack's wrists. "We can't be selfish, Jack."

"The hell we can't," Jack growled. "You matter, Ianto. Both you and the baby. And if it makes me selfish to want to keep both of you in my life for as long as possible, then I'm one hell of a selfish bastard and I don't give a rat's ass who knows it."

Ianto briefly closed his eyes. "I feel like I shouldn't be selfish."

"Be selfish." When Ianto lowered his gaze, Jack urged him to look up. "But if that's too difficult, at least believe me when I say that I'll protect you and Salted Peanut. I promise I will."

Ianto smiled sadly. "You can't promise me that."

"Yes, I can."

Jack hugged him close, mindful of his belly. Ianto may not be able to put much faith in his promise, but Jack swore to himself that he would follow through with it. He had to, because not doing so meant losing Ianto and the baby, and Jack refused to let that happen.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Ianto knew as soon as he woke up that Jack had spent the night either watching Ianto sleep or checking the rift monitor to ensure no more spikes occurred in the vicinity of the team's homes. He ignored Jack's urges to stay in bed, quickly making a mug of coffee for his lover to enjoy. He may not be able to do much nowadays, but he could certainly make his lover his favourite brew.

He could tell his efforts were appreciated when Jack closed his eyes as he took one long swallow. Just because Ianto was forbidden to drink coffee for the remainder of his pregnancy didn't mean that he had to lower his self-imposed standards on his coffee's taste. He managed to scrounge up a couple of biscuits and sipped the tea he made for himself as Jack enjoyed his small albeit impromptu breakfast.

With a happy sigh, Jack leaned down towards Ianto's stomach, nuzzling the stretched skin through the shirt he wore. Ianto ran a hand through Jack's hair. "Maybe you should be the one to get some rest. You've done nothing but play bodyguard all night."

"I don't need much sleep." Jack's voice was muffled.

"Doesn't mean you're not tired."

Jack chose that moment to lift Ianto's shirt. "Hello, Salted Peanut."

Ianto knew what Jack was doing. "You're ignoring me."

And Jack continued to do so, speaking to his stomach. "This is daddy, the hot one." Ianto snorted, remembering how Jack had decided to refer to himself as "hot daddy" and had labelled Ianto as "cute daddy" whenever Jack decided to speak to their unborn child. "How are you doing in there? We can't wait to meet you. Cute daddy has a couple of names for you, Neil or Bran, so you won't have to worry about being named after a nut."

"A peanut isn't a nut. It's a legume." Ianto considered Jack's words, and said, "About those names . . . I really don't think they fit with Jones-Harkness."

Jack laughed and sat up, not looking very much surprised by his admission. "So what do you have in mind now?"

"Pryce or Gavin. I found them in the baby book before I fell asleep."

"Sticking with Welsh, are we?"

Ianto placed a hand on his stomach. "He's Welsh."

"Part Welsh," Jack corrected.

"And what's the other part?" Ianto arched a brow. All he knew about Jack's childhood was that he was born and raised on the Boeshane Peninsula, which didn't exactly say much. Was that a planet, a city, a village, or a continent? Were the people a mixture of species that had separate names or was there a term to refer to all who lived there?

Jack grinned. "Part Harkness."

_Sneaky_. Ianto didn't push for more information. There were some things that they didn't talk about, and that included Jack's less than pleasant past. It only made the few bits Ianto did get all that more special. "Fine, what do you want to name our son? And no names that once belonged to one-night stands, past lovers, aliens you had orgies with—"

"Okay, okay." Jack had a thoughtful look on his face. "How about Raedan?"

"What does that mean?"

"No clue. I heard it when I was trying to con—" He stopped and then gave Ianto a bright smile. "Never mind. Raedan doesn't suit him."

Another lover, probably.

The cogwheel rolled open and the alarms sounded. Terry walked in, looking frazzled and not too happy. "Do you know how aggravating it is to try to get some sleep only to think that every shadow is one of those Yamni?"

"Yes, considering I didn't get any sleep last night," Jack answered.

Terry glowered. "Fuck you. You don't need sleep. I do." Terry could be a mean bastard when he was exhausted. It was the only time that he showed the fiery temper that matched his red hair.

Ianto pointed towards the kitchenette. "There's coffee."

Gwen's mood wasn't much better when she stomped her way inside the hub ten minutes later, tossing her bag into the nearest chair. "Rhys and I stayed up all night watching the street."

"Coffee." Much like he did with Terry, Ianto pointed her towards the kitchenette so she could get her own mug of coffee. As she stomped her way over to the little area, Ianto wondered if he was the only one who got any rest last night.

That was until Nia breezed in. Her hair was up in its Mohawk shape and she was smiling brightly, white teeth visible in between her parted lips. She either had a good night's sleep, or she had a good shag from that boyfriend of hers.

"Good morning," she called, receiving nothing more than grunts from Gwen and Terry, and muted hellos from Jack and Ianto.

Jack hopped off the couch. "Now that everyone's here." Ianto watched him sidle up to a computer. "This is what Terry recorded last night."

The others gathered around the computer while Ianto stayed put on the couch. He didn't need to see that video clip again, the image already burned in his mind.

"What's he saying?" Nia asked.

Jack shot a quick glance at Ianto before he answered. "'Give him to us or you will die,' according to Ianto."

"How do they even know where we live?" Gwen demanded, clearly unhappy at having her home threatened.

"They could've found out in quite a few ways. Watched you, decided to research who Ianto's friends are. They probably would've come after me, too, but I'm not easy to find."

"Doesn't hurt that they have no idea you live here, you lucky bastard."

"Drink your coffee, Terry," Jack said in response to the doctor's sulky words. Ianto smiled. Terry's current attitude reminded him of Owen's attitude, except that Terry's attitude wasn't a permanent part of his personality.

"So what do we do?" It was Nia's turn to sound demanding. "As much as I love staying over at my boyfriend's house, I do like to go home once in a while."

"For a quick fix, I suggest all of you find different places to stay for a while, just until we come up with a game plan to get the Yamni off our backs for good."

"What makes you so sure they won't find us again?" Gwen asked.

"You can stay here," Jack suggested. Ianto saw disbelieving expressions befall on everyone's faces. "Come on! We can have slumber parties."

Gwen snorted. "I'm not too keen on heading towards the loo only to stumble upon you and Ianto playing naked hide-and-seek."

Ianto felt his cheeks warm when Nia and Terry turned to look at him. Nia's brows were arched high. "Naked hide-and-seek?" she asked.

"It's not what it sounds like."

"It's exactly what it sounds like, with a few modified rules, of course." Ianto glared, getting nothing more than a lecherous grin in response from Jack. "Fine, if none of you want to stay here, stay in a hotel, courtesy of Torchwood. Just don't go anywhere near your homes."

"That won't solve the problem," Terry pointed out. "How long are we supposed to stay at the hotel? And what about Ianto? Isn't he in danger, too?"

Ianto lifted a hand, grabbing their attention. "I'm right here, you can ask me that yourself." He shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. "I'm moving out of my flat, remember? They don't know where I'm going to be living."

"And he's safe here in the hub." Jack looked at them all. "Look, I know this isn't an ideal situation, and I know we're all a little concerned and maybe even scared, but that's probably what they want. They didn't kill me and they didn't kill you last night, which was a good opportunity for them to do so. That tells me they don't want to kill us."

"Why not?" Gwen sounded frustrated at the lack of information. "I mean, I don't want to die, but why the threats if they don't want to follow through with them?"

"I'm thinking it has something to do with Ianto."

Ianto blinked at Jack's words as everyone turned to stare at him. He lifted his hands. "I have no idea what he's talking about."

"When I confronted Ichtaca, she said that she wanted you to go willingly because it'll be easier for them to handle you, or something like that."

Ianto thought about the logic. It made sense. If Ianto went of his own free will, he would probably be slightly more willing to do as told to protect his loved ones. But if Jack and the others were killed and he was taken against his will, no way in hell would he listen to them. He would fight to get back home, especially if it meant keeping his baby away from the Yamni.

"Killing you will only make me want to fight harder to stay out of their clutches," Ianto said.

"Exactly. She's not going to take chances with you."

"What if we go after them?" Nia asked.

"We don't even know where they are," Terry pointed out.

"I'm working on the tracking device, remember? Like I told Jack, they're in our solar system somewhere. If I can find their location, we can fight back. Kill them."

"We can't go in there and start killing the Yamni," Gwen immediately rejected. Ianto wasn't surprised to hear her say that. "We have to convince them to head on home. Surely we can find a way to do that."

"Didn't work when Jack talked to them," Ianto muttered.

Gwen heard him. "That's because he let his cocky, arrogant self do the talking." Jack squawked. "We could be a little nicer," she continued. "Make the Yamni understand that taking you is wrong, and maybe offer our help so we can all work together to find a way to ensure the Yamni race doesn't go extinct."

Ianto could see the scepticism in Nia's expression. Ianto was a little sceptical himself. The Yamni were ruthless, he couldn't quite see how they would be able to convince them to leave. He kept his thoughts to himself, though.

Nia, on the other hand, had no such scruples. "And they'll kill us while we're trying to be _nice_."

Gwen glowered at the slight derision in Nia's tone. "We need to give them a chance."

"And what if that doesn't work?" Nia crossed her arms. "Or are we just going to lie there showing our bellies until we're all dead?"

Ianto saw another fight coming. Terry was starting to back away slowly while Jack got between them. "Ladies, this is no time to be at each other's throat."

Gwen ignored him. "We can't just kill every alien we encounter. The Yamni are desperate. Who's to say they're actually bad?"

"And who's to say they're good?" Nia shot back. "We can't rely on their empathy. We need to consider the fact that maybe they'll all have to die. Or do you want to risk Ianto's and the baby's lives?"

Ianto scowled. "Don't bring me into this!"

The women began to bicker. Jack did his best to calm them down but his words were drowned out by their rising voices. Terry chose the best option and stayed out of the fight, hovering several feet away. Ianto slapped a hand against his forehead and shook his head. Fighting amongst themselves would solve nothing.

If Ianto was brutally honest, he would rather have the Yamni shot and killed than risk talking to them. He was scared of being in their hands. Even though he would give himself up in a second if it meant keeping his child away from them, he feared the unknown. There were so many possibilities running through his head and he just didn't know which ones would happen. He didn't even know if he would be allowed to stay on earth or if they would take him somewhere off-planet. His greatest fear, however, was being separated from his baby, to never hold him in his arms, to never see him grow up, to never be able to find out what the Yamni planned to do with his child.

He cupped his stomach, staring down at the roundness that housed the baby. He didn't give a damn what he had to do, he would make sure his baby was safe.

Ianto struggled to his feet, wanting another cup of tea. The fighting was starting to give him a headache.

He managed to stand, but when he took a step forward, his world spun. Darkness crept into the edges of his vision and he swayed. "Jack."

He faintly heard his name being shouted, but the darkness swooped in and he felt himself falling as he passed out.

* * *

><p>When Ianto woke up, he was in the medical bay with Jack hovering over him. The worried look on his lover's face immediately changed to one of relief.<p>

"Thank God."

Confused, Ianto simply stared at him for a moment before the fuzziness in his brain sharpened into clarity. He gasped and cupped his stomach. "The baby?"

"He's fine. You're fine. We're all fine." Jack didn't look fine. He looked a little worse for wear, in fact.

"What happened?"

Jack grabbed Ianto's hand. "You fainted. Terry checked you out and said your blood pressure is high, probably due to high levels of stress. It caused you to pass out."

No need to wonder where all the stress was coming from. "Where's Terry?" He frowned when he realized he couldn't hear the girls, either. "And the others?"

"Out on a rift alert."

"How long was I out?"

"Not long, about twenty minutes. The rift alert occurred about five minutes after you passed out. It was a big one so I had to send all three." Jack used his other hand to run a finger down Ianto's cheek. "But only after Terry checked you over twice to ensure there really was nothing to worry about."

"You should've gone," Ianto murmured. "Can't leave them on their own, not now."

"Hush." Jack leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "That's the kind of stress we're going to need to avoid from now on. If we're not careful it might cause premature labour. We're trying to avoid that as best we could, remember?"

Yes, he remembered. The baby could now survive outside the sac, but a premature baby came with its own risks.

"Did the girls resolve their differences?"

"As soon as you fell, they forgot what they were fighting about." Jack squeezed the hand he held. "You need to take it easy from now on, Ianto. I know I've said that before but—"

"I know." Ianto sighed. "You've been telling me for days to take it easy." He gave Jack a rueful smile. "I'm not bloody good at listening, am I?"

Jack smiled softly. "Not really, no." His smiled disappeared. "You scared me there for a moment. One minute you were standing there, the next you were falling. I barely caught you in time. Your head nearly hit the coffee table."

Ianto couldn't exactly apologize for something he had no control over, so he simply squeezed Jack's hand.

"Right," Jack said, giving him a stern look. "You're to stay in bed as much as possible. No more unnecessary duties or chores, and I'm gonna tell the others to stop bickering in front of you. We need to get that blood pressure down."

Ianto chuckled and nodded, not bothering to argue. He didn't think he would be able to stay in bed for long periods of time, but he knew he had to start taking better care of himself. He would be useless to his own child if his focus on finding a way to protect him from the Yamni overrode his body's needs.

"I could still do the coffee, right?"

Jack laughed softly. "I would prefer if you didn't do anything, but I know how you are. Just easy tasks, nothing too stressful or exhausting."

"Can I get up now? This table isn't exactly comfortable."

Jack quickly helped him sit up before Ianto squirmed his way off the table. He stretched his back as best he could to relieve the ache, only to get a hard kick as his reward from the baby. Damn, the kicks were really starting to hurt. The baby book Terry had provided him warned him that the baby's kicks may become painful towards the end of his pregnancy, but Ianto strongly suspected that the lack of a uterus played a role in the baby's kicks hurting him. The only thing protecting the baby was the sac, which was now attached to the inner linings of his abdomen. It was a bit thicker and, presumably, a bit sturdier, but it wasn't as thick as a woman's uterus.

Ianto didn't protest when Jack led him to their room in the hub. He saw how his fainting spell affected Jack, and he didn't want to make him feel any worse about it. He lay on the bed on top of the covers, watching Jack gather the pillows and plump them before placing them behind Ianto's back.

"I've never been so pampered in my life," Ianto said.

"I would pamper you even more, but you don't let me."

"There's a difference between pampering and coddling."

"Not much difference. You just have a negative connotation whenever you think of the word 'coddle.'" Jack sat on the bed. "Now, is there anything I can get you?"

Ianto reached for the remote control. "I'm good. I'll just watch TV for a while." He lightly tapped the control against Jack's shoulder before pointing it at the TV and turning it on. "Go on, I'm sure there are things you need to get done."

Jack hesitated. "There's nothing that's pressing for my attention right now . . ."

"Jack, you hovering over me will not help me relax. It'll only aggravate me." Ianto gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll be okay on my own for a little while."

"All right, then." Jack leaned down to kiss his temple before sauntering out of the room.

Ianto was entertained for a good solid hour by the television before boredom began to sink in. He tried to nap, but he wasn't a bit tired, and when he resorted to counting ceiling panels, he knew he needed to get out of bed.

He threw his legs over the edge of the bed and used his arms to push himself up. He took a moment to find his balance. "I can't wait until I'm thin again," he muttered. It used to be so easy standing up from furniture and now it was a struggle. He was also getting tired of sleeping on his side and back. While Ianto didn't have a preferred sleeping position, he did miss sleeping on his stomach and sleeping on top of Jack.

He padded to the main hub, hearing voices. The others must have returned.

Gwen was the first to see him. "There you are!" She left her workstation and quickly made it to his side, wrapping an arm around him. "How are you doing? You gave us a fright earlier."

"I think I gave myself a bit of a fright, but I'm okay." He scanned the area. He found Nia bent over something at her workstation and could hear sounds coming from the medical bay, but no Jack.

"He's in his office making a few calls." Gwen had a knowing smile on her lips.

"Was I that obvious?"

"You two are attached at the hip lately. Find one, you'll find the other, and whenever you two are apart, you're always looking for each other."

Ianto eyed her, wanting to see how she felt about the closeness between him and Jack. He thought he saw just a hint of envy, but she mostly looked amused.

"And you and Nia?"

Gwen shrugged a shoulder. "We agreed to disagree. Like always." She rolled her eyes, making Ianto chuckle. "Come now," she said, trying to steer him back towards his room. "You really should go back to bed. High blood pressure is not good for you or the baby."

Ianto resisted. "I really don't want to lie down."

"Ianto." She touched his stomach, rubbing it slightly. "You need to stay off your feet."

"I can stay off my feet on the couch." He was used to sitting there. When he wasn't standing, he was always sitting on the couch.

Gwen hesitated, but she gave in and guided him to the couch, helping him sit down. "Tea?"

"I prefer coffee," he grumbled, letting show how much he missed the taste of it, but he shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Just to warn you," she said, sitting down next to him, "Rhys officially knows about your pregnancy."

Ianto grimaced, slightly uncomfortable that Gwen's husband knew about his condition, but he was more surprised that Gwen hadn't said a word about it for so long. "How did you tell him?"

"Rhys no longer accepts vague answers. Once Ichtaca appeared outside my window last night, I explained everything."

"And how did he take your co-worker being pregnant?"

"At first he blustered, then he stared, then he began to campaign that I should reconsider my timing of when we can have kids."

He laughed. He could only imagine how eager Rhys must have sounded, trying so hard to convince his wife that they should have kids soon.

"I'm glad you find the situation amusing." Gwen pretended to look stern but her eyes twinkled with mirth. "This is your fault entirely. Now I'll never hear the end of it."

"Perhaps you should reconsider your stance. The next generation of Torchwood," he teased.

"I'm not ready for children." She took a moment to coo at his round stomach. "Although seeing you pregnant does speed up my biological clock."

"Are you not ready for children because of Torchwood?"

She hummed slightly. "Torchwood plays a role, yes, but Rhys and I have only been married for eighteen months."

"But I thought you've been together since college."

"Yes, but I do want to enjoy married life a little longer before married life suddenly becomes parenthood."

Ianto rubbed his stomach. "Never thought I'd be entering parenthood, least of all with Jack."

Gwen hesitated, glancing away for a moment before saying, "Jack mentioned you and he would be living together."

Ianto was surprised. "When did he tell you?"

"He didn't. Not directly, anyway. I heard him over the phone earlier saying that he needed to talk to his lover first before he agreed to sign the lease for the flat. I put two and two together." She frowned slightly. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Doesn't matter, does it? You knew I was moving out."

"Yes, and I also know that you're staying here until you can move into a new flat, but it was never mentioned that Jack would be moving in with you."

Ianto cocked his head. "We didn't see any need to announce it."

"Is it really wise?"

"What, not announcing it?"

"No, moving in with Jack."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"It's Jack." She quickly looked in the direction of Jack's office. Ianto looked in the same direction, seeing Jack talking on the phone, his hand moving despite the fact that no one was there to see it. She turned back to Ianto. "He's not exactly the domestic type, is he?"

"Gwen—"

"I just don't want you to be stuck at home with a baby while Jack gallivants all over the city."

_Oh_. Ianto relaxed a little. For one horrendous moment, he thought Gwen's jealousy was rearing its ugly head.

He reached out and touched her hand. "Thank you for your concern, but there really is no need. When Jack and I discussed it, we were open about what we expected from each other. I have no illusions that he will be happy staying-in every night, but I'm just as sure that he is fully committed to the baby."

"I have no doubt about that. But what about his commitment to you?"

"We discussed that as well." Ianto smiled. "He labelled us."

Gwen's brows shot up high. "Jack Harkness? King of no labels?"

"I was just as shocked as you." Ianto threw a glance in Jack's direction. He leaned close to Gwen. "We actually had a conversation about it, then promised to never have it again."

"What did you guys talk about?" she asked curiously.

"What we are to one another, mostly. I have his fidelity, I have his loyalty, and I have his protection. We're committed partners, is what he said."

Gwen scrutinized him. "Fidelity, loyalty, and protection," she repeated. "You don't have anything else?"

Ianto knew what she was referring to: Jack's love. "What else do I need?"

"Don't you want more than just those three things?"

Gwen was just too insightful for her own good sometimes. Of course Ianto wanted Jack's love, but their relationship wasn't normal. Jack would outlive him one day. "What I want more than anything is not to break Jack's heart, and I will one day. We all will. I can't ask for more than what he can give, not when giving more will only hurt him in the end. I have more than I ever expected, and I can live with that." He looked down at his stomach. "Besides, what I can't have from Jack, I'll get from my baby."

She leaned forward to hug him. "I didn't mean to pry, pet."

Ianto snorted. "Yes, you did. You can't help yourself." He kept his tone teasing, dispelling any heat in his words.

She sniffed. "Well, when you have two hardheaded men, one must pry." She peered at him. "If you're sure about moving in together, then I won't say anything more about it."

"I'm sure." He kissed her cheek. "Thank you for caring."

A beep sounded from Gwen's workstation. "Looks like my search is done."

"What search?"

Gwen eyed him. "Just a search."

Ianto grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving. "My blood pressure will only go up if you keep me in the dark."

"Jack said to keep you out of Torchwood matters."

"Jack's an idiot, especially if 'Torchwood matters' is really code for the Yamni. Now spill. You said you were searching for those men who went missing, right?"

Defeated, she nodded. "I found a couple of more, but they committed suicide."

"Were they all taken from Wales?"

"No, they were taken from all over the world. Random men, it looks like. Some had been married, others single. Most were around your age, though. Young. Healthy. That's the only thing they had in common."

Ianto rubbed his bare wrist where the leather bracelet once rested. He kept touching his wrist, automatically in search of a bracelet that was no longer there. He wondered if he should get a new bracelet to wear. "Jack said they chose me because his pheromones were all over me. They knew I slept with a man."

"I ran a concurrent search of any men who recently had tumours removed. There is quite a list. Funny enough, we had an increase of tumour removals in Wales around the same time that we discovered your pregnancy." She jerked her chin in Jack's direction. "He thinks that when the Yamni first arrived, they must have targeted potential candidates all over the world, separate teams for different locations. But as each time went on and there were no successful results, the teams left one by one."

"Except Ichtaca's team." Ianto nodded, seeing the logic in the theory. "Maybe that's why Ichtaca narrowed down the qualifications for potential candidates." He remembered how Ichtaca had approached him, calling him perfect. "If they changed their methods of making conception possible, she wouldn't have wanted to waste time on men who didn't sleep with other men."

"The large majority of men who had their so-called tumours removed sleep with other men. A couple of the men are married to women, but Jack thinks they're hiding in the closet." She shrugged. "And these are just the men who got the foetus removed. Who knows how many others miscarried without even knowing it."

He rubbed his forehead. "I really am their last hope."

"I'm trying to find more of those men were kidnapped, hoping someone will pop up who's still alive and in Cardiff, or at least close by. Maybe they can help us with a description of the ship, maybe even give us an idea of where the spaceship is." She patted his knee and stood up, heading towards her workstation and ending their conversation.

He peeked over at Jack's office, and his eyebrows rose when he saw Jack not only looking at him, but holding up a piece of paper that said: _Why aren't you resting? _He was still talking on the phone, his own eyebrow going up.

Ianto let himself fall to his side, curling up as best he could on the couch and giving Jack a look of his own, one that said _see, I am resting_.

Jack's other brow joined the first before a smile reached his lips and he turned back to his phone conversation. Ianto laughed.

* * *

><p>Jack was softly snoring beside him and was pressed close to his side, nose buried in Ianto's neck. Ianto wished he could sleep just as comfortably, but both his body and his mind refused to give him peace. He glanced at the clock and muffled a groan. It was three in the morning.<p>

With ten weeks to go before the baby's arrival, everything with the baby was progressing as it should, but the one thing that worried everyone was his high blood pressure. It refused to go down. Ianto has done everything, from doing light work, to remaining in bed, to constant amounts of sleeping, but his blood pressure remained high and clearly the large amount of sleep was giving him too much rest. Now he was wide awake.

He knew lying there would only lead to thoughts of the Yamni threat, as he now dubbed it. All he did was think about them when he had nothing to distract himself. The others on the team had followed Jack's advice and were now staying away from their homes as much as they could, but that didn't stop the Yamni from staking out their homes any more than it stopped them from staking out the Plass and other places that Ianto used to go to. The Yamni made him nervous, making him feel unsafe, even at the hub.

He stubbornly shook his head. He was not going to think about them.

He carefully moved away from Jack, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and using a hand to help him stand on his feet. Glancing down at Jack to make sure he didn't wake him up, he padded out of the room to heat up some milk.

Their new flat was still in disarray, with boxes piled in corners and furniture not exactly lined up properly, but the essentials for the kitchen were already unpacked and placed in cabinets. Ianto was glad that they managed to move in so soon, and he was grateful that his lease for his old flat had been taken care of without penalty. It made him wonder what Jack had done to accomplish that.

As he poured some milk into a saucepan, he mused at the strangeness of living with Jack. Not just shagging or staying over, but actually _living _together. Jack had once boasted that nothing could tie him down, and of all the people to accomplish such a thing, it was Ianto who Jack had chosen to sign the lease with, and Ianto hadn't even planned any of it to happen. Funny how life turned out.

Once the milk was sufficiently warmed, he grabbed a mug, poured, and took a long sip from the warm liquid. He made his way out of the kitchen and down the hall to the living room, sitting on the leathery sofa. Placing his mug on the end table, he eyed the box next to him. It was unlabelled, as were all the boxes that contained his stuff. Jack had personally packed all of Ianto's belongings, but as expected from a man who didn't even know what the word 'neat' meant, there was no organization to it. Random items were thrown together into each box, leaving Ianto to go through them to see what was inside.

He turned on the lamp that was on the end table and opened the flaps of the box. It was mostly knick-knacks, but underneath it all was a family photo album. He murmured a noise of surprise as he took it out, having forgotten he had it in his possession.

The album wasn't the typical family photo album, mostly because it was pictures that chronicled the family history on his mother's side. It dated back to the 1700s, and the first 'photos' were miniature painted portraits. There were names, dates, and short summaries of who were in the pictures and where they were taken, followed by a note of when and how the people in the pictures died. There was an abundance of personal information, from their favourite hobbies to their most annoying traits. It intrigued the archivist inside of him to have this kind of information about his mother's family line.

He started on the first page, studying the portrait of a woman with a haughty expression that the artist managed to beautifully convey. Abigail Edwards, born in England and daughter of a Baron, who eventually disowned her for following her heart and running away to Wales with a stable boy by the name of Jack Davies. As he flipped through pages, he realized that a lot of his deceased female relatives had married men named Jack, and considering that the name Jack wasn't popular back then as it was now, it was a coincidence that astounded him.

"We can't get away from those named Jack, can we?" he muttered.

Ianto didn't know how long he sat there going through the album, but Ianto managed to reach the mid-1900s when Jack's voice made him jump.

"What are you doing?"

Ianto looked up to find a completely naked Jack walk into the living room. "Looking at pictures," he answered.

Jack stopped in front of him, peering down at him blearily. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"I couldn't sleep." He nodded at his mug, now empty. "Decided to heat some milk, but then I found this." He tapped the photo album.

"What is it?"

"My family's photo album, on my mom's side. It dates back to the seventeen hundreds." Ianto smooth a hand across the page that housed a great-grandmother. "A great-great-aunt decided to find records of my family and started the album. Those after her decided to continue it."

Jack shoved away the box and sat next to him. "How did you end up with it?"

"The photo album was passed down to those who were interested in it. My mother wanted it. She liked keeping records."

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I see."

Ianto lightly smacked him. Jack took the album and flipped through a few pages, glancing through the pictures. "Who's this?" he asked.

Ianto looked at the black and white picture of a man posing in his uniform, his lips pressed thin and his eyes stern.

"Maddox Evans, my great-great-great grandfather," he answered, remembering the information he read about his relative. He repeated it for Jack's sake. "Left his wife to fight in the First World War and he didn't know he was leaving behind an unborn child. He died bravely, according to those who witnessed his death. He wasn't the only soldier in the family to fight in any of the wars, but he was the only one who didn't make it back home alive."

Jack studied the picture. "You look like him."

"I do, don't I?" That was the first thing Ianto had noted, right down to the upturn nose Jack often commented on.

Jack grinned. "At least I know how you might look like in uniform."

"Isn't the red beret enough?"

"Hardly. That's barely a taste of a full meal, and a man's gotta eat."

Ianto rubbed a thumb across the picture. "I wish I met him. He sounded like an extraordinary man. He saved lives and was awarded a medal. He was given an honourable burial."

"Maybe we can go visit his gravesite," Jack suggested.

Ianto smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that." He closed the album, touching the solid cover. "I forgot I even had this."

"Did your mom give it to you?"

"No." He looked at Jack. "After she passed away, I found this amongst her things at the institution."

"Institution?"

Ianto took a deep breath. "My mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She was placed in a mental institution. The same one where that woman we spoke to about the Night Travellers resided in."

Jack blinked and then groaned. "That's why you acted all jittery." He cupped Ianto's cheek. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Wasn't important at the time."

Jack's eyes ran over his face. "And you didn't trust me enough to tell me."

He didn't say a word.

His lover sighed. "I don't blame you. It's not like my whole life is an open book." He leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

"I trust you now." Ianto kept his eyes on Jack's. "I didn't back then, but I do now."

Jack ran a hand down Ianto's head. "Talk to me about your family, okay? The good and the bad. I'll listen, anytime."

"I know. That's why I told you about my mother, and that's why I'm sharing my family history with you. No one else knows. No one."

Jack was quick to understand his meaning. "Thank you for sharing this with me." He gave him a tired smile. "Wish you hadn't shared this with me at four-thirty in the morning, but that's okay. I can forgive you."

"Thanks," he said dryly. Then he realized what Jack said. "Four-thirty in the morning?"

"Yep." Jack took the photo album and carefully placed it on the coffee table, his respect for the album clear in his movements. He then stood up and held out a hand for Ianto. "Come on back to bed." When Ianto glanced at the mug, Jack said, "Leave it, we'll get to it in the morning."

"At least let me put it in the sink." He allowed Jack to help him up.

"I'll do it. It'll probably keep you up all night thinking about it."

Ianto scowled. "I'm not that bad."

"You're bordering on OCD." He nudged Ianto in the direction of the bedroom. "Go to bed, I'll be there in a moment."

Ianto padded to their bedroom, muttering denials about being OCD. He was a neat freak and perhaps a bit anal, but most certainly not OCD. There was absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a clean home.

He was already in bed and under the covers by the time Jack returned. Jack spooned behind him, wrapping an arm protectively around his swollen stomach. Ianto stared into the darkness for several seconds before he whispered, "Jack?"

Jack grunted behind him. "What?"

"Maddox." He turned his head to look at Jack. "I want to name our son Maddox."

There was a beat of silence before he felt lips press against the back of his neck. "Perfect."

Ianto snuggled into Jack's arms, and it was only seconds before sleep finally claimed him.

* * *

><p>"Looking good." Terry delicately touched Ianto's distended abdomen. "All the tests I've ran indicates the baby is going to be healthy. No signs of any disabilities or illnesses that we need to worry about."<p>

Ianto was relieved to hear it. He wouldn't have loved his child any less if the baby was born with a disability, but like any other parent, he had hoped for the best. He winced when the baby kicked. "Is there any way to make the baby not kick me?"

"Nope, although we need to watch your ribs. Babies have been known to break the ribs of their mothers."

"I'm not anyone's mother." He swiped at Terry, who danced out of his reach with a chuckle.

Terry picked up Ianto's chart, making notes in it. "Any questions?"

"Labour." Ianto presumed Terry was done checking his stomach so he put on his shirt. "Do you know how it's going to work?"

"I have theories." When Ianto made a face, the doctor gave him a look of his own. "What? It's not like I've ever done this before."

"What are your theories, then?"

"Remember those rats I brought in a couple of weeks ago?"

"Yes." Terry had waltzed into the hub with two cages and four rats, announcing that he was going to see if those organisms can help the male rats conceive. "They all gave birth last night after you went home. At different times, though."

"Wait, how did they give birth so soon?"

"I sort of used a couple of alien devices to speed up the process. Aphrodisiacs so the rats can shag each other and a little device that quickens the incubation period."

Ianto felt a little bad for the rodents, now that Ianto knew how it felt to be a subject of experiments for the sake of another species. "If those organisms worked on rats, why didn't the Yamni experiment on them?" he muttered.

"The Yamni are an advanced race from the future. Why settle for rats when they can go back in time and experiment on humans? The more advanced we get, the more caught up we get with new technology, and we toss aside the simple stuff."

True enough. Youngsters were more obsessed with texting on their phones than having an actual conversation nowadays. "And what have the poor little rats taught you about the labour process?"

"That sac your baby is floating in? That's some form of uterus." Terry pointed at the monitor, tracing the faint outline of the sac. "The rats proved to feel pain when the sac started to contract, and as labour goes on, the sac will begin to go soft and disintegrate."

"So what does that mean for me?" he asked.

"When the sac is soft, that's when I'll need to operate and remove the baby, and I need to get him out before the sac finishes disintegrating."

Ianto dreaded asking, but he needed to know. "Why?"

"Because when the sac disintegrates, so does the umbilical cord, and as we all know, the cord is what provides the baby with oxygen." Terry sighed and he put down Ianto's chart. "I was too late for the first two rats. The sac had completely disintegrated by the time I operated on the first rat. All the babies died. When the second rat went into labour, I managed to save only one baby." At Ianto's horrified expression, Terry quickly added, "But I saved the babies from the other rats. Operated just in time."

"So what does that mean?" Ianto wrapped his arms around his stomach, more worried than ever about the birth.

"It means that you're going to feel pain when the sac contracts. They're probably going to feel like cramps, only much more severe."

"Kind of like when my body was trying to force a miscarriage?"

"Maybe. When you feel intense pain, it could be a sign that the sac is beginning to break down. The disintegration process is a slow one, so there will be time for me to remove the baby. So long as I go in there before the sac completely disintegrates, everything will be okay."

Ianto nodded, taking in the information. "And the rats, they survived giving birth?"

"Yep. A bit moody, I suspect, but all alive." Terry grinned wide. "That bodes well for you."

"But those were rats. What makes you so sure that's how it's going to turn out with me?"

Terry turned off the monitor. "That's why I said that I have a couple of _theories_, but at least we have an idea of what will happen when you're in labour." He clasped Ianto's shoulder and squeezed. "We'll just have to keep a diligent eye on you, okay? If you start feeling intense pain, let me know. Keep comm unit or phone on you at all times in case you're somewhere in the hub where none of us can hear you shout for help."

"Like the Archives?" Ianto hasn't been down there in weeks. "I doubt I'll be anywhere around here by myself, but I'll keep them on me anyway."

"All right. Go on, get out of here."

"And go where?" Terry helped him slide off the table. "I'm too big to go down to the Archives, everyone is doing something—"

"Go be with Jack."

Ianto scowled. "No."

Terry sighed. "What did he do now?"

Ianto and Jack have only been living together for a couple of weeks, but already they've had a few spats interrupt their domestic bliss. They weren't used to sharing space on a permanent basis and were still feeling their way around each other. As Jack enjoyed telling him, he was a neat freak while Jack liked to drop his clothes on the floor and let the sink fill with dirty dishes. Ianto's moodiness due to the pregnancy didn't help matters. Their fights have spilled into the hub a couple of times, letting the entire team know that all was not well in paradise.

"Bloody idiot." Ianto sniffed. "He broke my lamp, and then tried to hide it_. In the kitchen cabinet_." He rolled his eyes. "Like I don't look in there."

Terry made shooing gestures with his hands. "Then go and make him grovel. You have to enjoy that, yeah?"

"What I want is a new lamp." The lamp Jack broke was completely irreparable, one of the reasons why Jack had tried to hide it after he had failed to glue it back together.

"Make him buy you a new one." Terry raised a red brow. "An expensive one, maybe even one he doesn't seem too fond of?"

The idea had merit. Their tastes in furniture didn't exactly meld, with Ianto liking elegant designs while Jack seemed to be drawn to the extravagant. There was a statue of a man's torso sitting in their living room, which Ianto found a bit distasteful and slightly tacky, but Jack loved it. Ianto allowed it only because posted right behind it was a print of the famous portrait _The Blue Boy_, which Jack didn't like because he swore the boy's eyes were following him every time he moved.

It would only serve Jack right if he was forced to pay for a lamp he didn't like, wouldn't it? Slightly petty, but at least Ianto would have a nice lamp to adorn his bedside table.

* * *

><p>"I don't see why this couldn't wait."<p>

Ianto ignored Jack's complaints, browsing through the available lamps on display. He didn't particularly like any of them, but it was good payback to make Jack suffer as they walked around the home décor section of the department store. He picked up a lamp, pretending to make appreciative noises at the design.

"You couldn't possibly want that, could you?"

He put the lamp down and turned to Jack, who was obviously bored and was now looking at the lamp with undisguised dislike. "Jack, we're here to find a lamp to replace the one you broke last night. Your opinion doesn't matter, your wallet does."

Jack slightly pouted. "You only want me for my money. I should be offended by that."

"Yes, your money and your body. What else does a man need?"

"Lots of things." Jack draped an arm over his shoulders. "Sex, food, movies, sex, fun, adventure, _sex_—"

"Repeating it isn't going to change my mind. There will be no sex until you've learned your lesson about not breaking your lover's lamp and trying to hide it."

"You know, if you weren't pregnant, you wouldn't be so firm in your decision to deny me sex," he murmured in his ear so fellow shoppers didn't overhear.

Jack had a point. Ianto found it much easier to deny Jack sex while pregnant. He easily became fatigued or moody because of the pregnancy, not wanting to do much more than lie down and sleep, and Jack almost always left him alone when asked. Under normal circumstances, however, Ianto would've had a difficult time withholding sex from Jack.

For someone with as high of a sex-drive as Jack possessed, depriving his lover's libido of sex for even a few days was a hardship for the man. It was possible, and sometimes necessary, but always filled with complaints or gropes in the dark, and Ianto would usually succumb to temptation within hours after telling Jack that there would be no sex.

"But I _am_ pregnant, so you're going to have to deal with it." Ianto spied a lamp in the far corner that he knew Jack would hate. It was plain, white and black. Too plain for Ianto, which would make it boring for Jack. He pointed at it. "Can you look at that lamp and see how much it costs?"

Jack's eyes followed to where Ianto pointed and his lip curled slightly. "Seriously?" Ianto nodded. "It has no style, no story to it."

"It doesn't need a story, it just needs to light up."

Jack grumbled, but went to the lamp. Ianto stifled a laugh. Revenge was sweet, even when it came in a small package.

"Finally."

All amusement abruptly vanished, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. He turned around and took an immediate step away when a tall thin man stood in front of him, his eyes glowing gold. "We've been looking for you."

"Jack!"

The gunshot rented through the air, causing shoppers to scream and the man to hiss when the bullet struck him. Ianto turned and met Jack halfway, an arm surrounding him protectively as Jack shifted his body so he was between Ianto and the Yamni, his gun still pointed at the wounded alien who suddenly vanished. The shoppers were in a panic, people running and ducking. Jack lowered his arm to conceal the weapon.

"We need to get out of here."

Ianto nodded, his hand firmly grasped before they began to track their way out of the home décor section as quickly as possible, but with Ianto seven months pregnant they weren't moving as quickly as Ianto would've liked, and the crowds of panicked shoppers made it even more difficult. They halted when the wounded Yamni appeared before them. "Fuck," Jack hissed, pointing his gun at the man.

"Other gun," Ianto demanded. Jack reached into his ankle holster and quickly gave Ianto the gun, who promptly pointed it at him as well.

"You are a lot cleverer than we thought," the man said. "We finally had to rely on cameras to search for your location."

"Not easy when you barely show yourself in public."

Ianto turned around as swiftly as he could when he heard that unmistakable voice. Ichtaca, blonde pigtails and all. Jack immediately shifted so that Ianto would be mostly shielded from both Yamni. As Jack moved his attention to her, Ianto moved his gun to her Yamni pal.

"I told you once and I will tell you again," Jack growled. "You're not taking either one."

"Like I said before, you cannot stop me."

Jack shot at her whilst Ianto did the same to the man. They both vanished. Grabbing Ianto's hand, they began to run as best they could. "We need to go back to the hub," Jack shouted over his shoulder, avoiding panicked shoppers who were running amok in the store after the sound of multiple gunshots.

Jack touched the comm in his ear. "Gwen, the Yamni found us via the CCTVs."

More Yamni appeared (easily spotted by the golden glow in their eyes), and Ianto shot at each one he saw, both in front and behind him. They may be able to manipulate molecules, but they couldn't do that if they were concentrating on not getting shot. They vanished before the bullets could touch them.

Jack dragged him to one of the emergency exits, the door already open and the alarm wailing. They stepped out into an alleyway and they quickly made their way out into the streets. Police cars were already screeching to a stop in front of the street that the department store occupied. None of this stopped the Yamni, who appeared in intervals.

Ianto's gun ran out of bullets just as they reached his car. He quickly got in, fastening his seatbelt as Jack scrambled inside and slammed the car's door shut. However, just as he was about to turn the ignition, he gasped sharply and hunched over, hands pressing against his chest.

"Jack?" He touched him, eyes moving wildly in an attempt to figure out the problem. "What's wrong?"

"Heart . . . hurt," Jack managed to groan, his eyes squeezing tightly shut. Movement caught his eye and Ianto looked up, tensing when he saw four Yamni standing in front of the car. All their eyes were glowing, and all of them were looking at Jack.

A hand grabbed his shoulder as something sharp plunged into his neck, causing him to yelp. Soft breath whispered in his ear. "You are ours."

Ianto's last image of Jack was seeing him slumped over the wheel, eyes opened and lifeless.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

Jack came back with a sharp gasp, jolting up and breathing heavily. He quickly looked at the passenger seat, but it was empty, as was the rest of the interior of the car.

They took Ianto.

"Goddamn it!" He shouted, slamming the wheel. He quickly turned the ignition on, furious at the Yamni, at himself, and showing that anger in his driving, speeding through red lights and swerving around cars as he drove straight back to the hub.

When he arrived, he stormed into the hub, seeing the entire team gathered in the main hub.

"Jack?" Gwen questioned, looking behind him.

"They took him," he growled, knowing who she was looking for. "They killed me and took Ianto."

Gwen's eyes widened, Nia drew in a sharp inhalation, and Terry delivered an explosive curse. "What do we—?"

"Someone put a trace on Ianto's phone. It should still be with him."

Nia quickly put in a trace, only to come up empty. "The phone isn't anywhere on the map. Nowhere on earth, in fact."

Jack cursed as he walked to the closest workstation. He brought up the CCTV videos of the department store, both inside and outside.

"What are you doing?" Gwen asked.

"Bringing up all CCTV videos of the department store we were in."

"But we can't see them—"

"I don't care," Jack snapped. "You and I are going to comb through them, see if we can find something that will help us get Ianto back." He pointed to Nia. "Find the transmission for their space ship, narrow down the coordinates."

"But I've already—"

"_Try again_." He turned to Terry. "I need you to scan Ianto's car, see if the Yamni left any kind of trace to their whereabouts, rift residue or anything we can use."

After seeing how Jack nearly bit the heads off his co-workers, Terry quickly did as he was told without asking any questions.

Jack and Gwen watched the security footage from the shop as it began to play. He saw the images of Ianto and himself near the display lamps, watched as he walked away to examine the ugly lamp Ianto had pointed to, and was slightly surprised when the Yamni showed up on the screen soon after. Gwen's own surprise was vocalized when she gasped.

"They're showing up, why are they showing up?"

Jack didn't answer, studying the footage, seeing the panic of the shoppers as he and Ianto fought through the crowds. As he watched, he saw how the other shoppers ran around the Yamni; one even barrelled into the back of one. "They aren't hiding themselves. Not from the cameras, not from the shoppers."

"Why? All those years of hiding, why waste all that effort now?"

"Switch to the CCTV outside, where Ianto's car was."

As soon as the images popped up, Jack saw himself clutching at his chest, and he remembered the excruciating pain of his heart constricting, squeezing. He hadn't even had a chance to fight, to tell Ianto to run or hide, before he had died. His hands clenched, watching Ianto wince when Ichtaca grabbed him before they both vanished, the Yamni who had stood in front of the car following suit.

"Run through the images again." For the next thirty minutes, they went through the footage, looking at it through every angle. He was getting more agitated as no clues popped up.

"There's nothing," Gwen said. "It's the same thing over and over again."

Nia returned, holding the tracker in her hand. "Jack, I can't find the transmission, no matter how many times I—"

"I don't care if you have to work with the tracker all day and night, find a fucking way to narrow down the coordinates."

Nia's eyes narrowed. "I've been working on this bloody thing for the past several weeks, and I told you that I don't have the intelligence to work any faster than I already am."

"That isn't enough," Jack said though gritted teeth. He reached up to tap his comm. "Terry, please tell me you found something."

There was a beat of silence before Terry's apologetic voiced filtered into his ear. "Sorry, Jack. There's nothing here."

Jack disconnected and ran both his hands through his hair, pacing one way and then the other as he tried to get his chaotic emotions under control. Anger, frustration, worry, and anxiety battled for dominance as he remembered Ianto's fear of the Yamni taking their baby away.

And now they had both baby and father.

He kicked a chair, the object clattering across the floor. He was just about to kick over the coffee table when Gwen immediately grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Jack, stop. Attacking the furniture isn't going to help Ianto."

He yanked his arm out from under her. "Then what will? Footage doesn't show shit, tracker is useless, and there's nothing in the damn car."

"You need to calm down." Gwen grabbed his face, making him look at her. "I know you're worried and scared—we all are—but you cannot lose it right now."

"They took my pregnant lover, I think I have every fucking right to lose it." He faintly heard Terry return, but ignored him.

"And that won't help Ianto any more than you knocking furniture over will." She stood tall, releasing his face so she could cross her arms in front of her chest. "Ianto doesn't need his emotional lover attacking furniture and snapping at everybody, what he needs is Torchwood's leader so he and his baby can be brought home safely."

Jack was accustomed to shedding his role of lover at the drop of a hat in order to be Ianto's leader, but this was different. Ianto hadn't been sent into danger for the greater good, he hadn't been sent into a fight to protect an innocent, he hadn't even been sent into a light mission of Weevil retrieval. Ianto had been kidnapped right in front of him, taken god knows where, and Jack had no idea where to even start looking for him. To make it all that more complicated, Ianto was pregnant. He was more vulnerable, unfit to fight, and probably unwilling to do anything that might endanger the baby, and Jack remembered Ianto's determination to protect the baby at all costs—even if it meant giving himself up to them.

He turned his back to his team, taking in deep breaths as he tried to place his emotions into some sort of order. He closed his eyes, but all he saw was Ianto's flinch of pain as that stupid bitch used a sharply pointed finger to prick Ianto's neck. He opened his eyes, gaze landing on the toppled chair on the ground. He broke one of the wheels. Ianto would be pissed off with him, he dimly realized.

Gwen appeared before him, peering up at him with her big dark eyes filled with worry and fear, but a glint of determination glittered there as well. "Jack, Ianto needs you."

"I promised him." He sucked in a breath. "I promised him that he would be safe. He and the baby, that I would protect them."

And it was another broken promise.

It was just like Lucia had said when she had taken his daughter away. Jack put everything he cared about in danger. He couldn't protect everyone, especially those closest to him. It didn't matter how hard he tried, Jack always ended up losing those he cared about because he always failed to protect them, and now he failed Ianto.

"You haven't failed them," she said, as if she had somehow managed to read Jack's thoughts of self-pity. She touched his arm. "We're going to find them, but we need you to pull yourself together."

He stared at her before he took another breath. "Right." His voice was hoarse, but she was completely right. He would be no good to Ianto if he didn't allow his brain to think. His emotions would just have to be put in a vault in the meantime. Only when Ianto was safe in his arms would he let them all out.

For now, he forced himself to shed the roles of lover and father, and assumed the role of team leader. "Okay, let's consider what we got. We have a tracker that isn't helping, some organisms, and images of the Yamni." Jack marched up the computer, looking at the frozen image of Ianto facing off against the first Yamni that had appeared in the department store. "They're no longer hiding from the cameras or the population. Theories?"

"No reason to?" Nia suggested. "When I was on the run from the police—" Everyone stared at her. She frowned. "What?"

"You were on the run?" Terry asked slowly.

"What can I say? I had a very exciting teenage life. Anyway, when I was on the run I hid, I kept my head down, and I did everything to stay away from their radar. But after I was caught and did my time, I had no reason to hide. I didn't need to keep my head down because it didn't matter anymore."

"What does this have to do with Ianto?" Jack asked.

"Think about it. Maybe they didn't need to keep their heads down because it didn't matter anymore. They don't need to hide under the radar." She rubbed the back of her neck. "And maybe it doesn't matter anymore because they got what they wanted."

"Ianto." Gwen tapped her bottom lip. "They got Ianto. That's all they've wanted since he got pregnant, yes?" She turned to look at Jack. "And now they're going to make sure we don't take him back."

Jack quickly brought up a map of Wales on the computer. There were no red dots indicating the presence of the Yamni. It was blank. He widened the map to show the continent and then the world. Both images lacked the red dots.

It confirmed what they were saying. The Yamni weren't going to leave Ianto by himself, and since none of the Yamni were on earth, that meant neither was Ianto.

"Gwen, those men who were kidnapped. Find any in Cardiff?"

"Not in Cardiff, but I did find one living out in the countryside. He has no phone so I was going to pay him a visit this weekend."

"Give me his address."

Gwen rattled off his address. "Just to warn you," she continued, "from what I was able to gather about this man, he's a bit of a recluse. He doesn't want to talk to anyone."

"What are you going to do?" Terry asked him.

Jack looked at him. "I don't care if he's unwilling to talk to anyone because he sure as hell is going to talk to me."

* * *

><p>The man in question truly was a recluse. There were no other houses for miles around the man's residence. There was nothing but trees, grass, and a long dirt road.<p>

Jack slammed the SUV's door closed and marched up the crumbling stone pathway that led to the tiny house's front door. He could hear the faint sound of a television or radio through the wood of the door. He pounded on it.

The faint sound abruptly cut off. Jack waited, but when no answer was forthcoming, he pounded on the door again. "I know you're in there, Mr. Robertson. I need to talk to you."

Again, no sound. He really didn't have time for bullshit. Jack took out his Webley and kicked the door. The force of impact swung the door into a wide arch until it slammed against the wall. He carefully walked inside, looking left and right. It wasn't a big house, only seemed to be one room with a closed door that might possibly lead into another room. The living room was neat and tidy, except for the mug of coffee sitting on a coaster. Jack felt a light pang at the sight, quickly shaking it off to better concentrate on the closed door.

He approached it cautiously. Standing beside it, he carefully reached out and turned the knob, pushing the door open and glancing inside.

A skinny man stood on the other side, bushy beard covering half his face, and he was pointing a rifle right at Jack. "Go away." That man's voice was gruff, hoarse.

Jack remained plastered against the side of the doorway, moving only his head. "I just want to talk."

"If I don't know you I don't want to talk to you."

"Then allow me to introduce myself. Captain Jack Harkness."

Mr. Robertson didn't look too impressed with the name or the title attached to it. He cocked the rifle. "Get off my property."

"Look, I just want to talk—"

"I said I don't want to talk to you!" Mr. Robertson shifted the rifle and pulled the trigger, the shot loud and making Jack's ears ring as he swiftly jerked his head back from the doorway. He stared at the bullet lodged into the wall of the living room. "If you don't get the fuck out, I will kill you."

Not much of a threat when he couldn't die, but Jack wasn't in the mood to expose that kind of a secret to the man. "I want to talk about the aliens who kidnapped you."

There was silence from the room. Jack was tempted to peek inside, but he stayed in his spot by the door. He continued speaking. "I know you don't want to talk to anyone, but I just need a little information, and I swear I'll leave once I get it."

There was more silence. Then: "What do you know about it?"

Jack took that as a good sign. "I know you were taken for about two months, and came back with a scar. A few others also claimed the same thing. A couple of them added that the aliens were trying to get them pregnant. Is that what happened to you?" Jack heard the sound of bedsprings. After a moment, he looked through the doorway and found Mr. Robertson sitting on his bed, rifle draped across his lap. Warily, Jack stepped into the room. "Mr. Robertson?"

"I lost everything because of that," he muttered. "Wife thought I was crazy, didn't believe me. Was locked up in some institution. Eventually I decided that I had an episode and made up the whole thing."

"Except that you have a scar."

Mr. Robertson looked up. "What do you want from me?"

"I need to know if there's anything you remember about the aliens or the interior of the spaceship, or if you managed to look outside and see what's out there."

"And why do you believe me? My own wife—ex-wife, I should say—didn't believe me."

Jack shuffled closer. "I've seen things, Mr. Robertson. Experienced events that you can only imagine. It's a big bad universe out there, and I'm just one of few who see it." When Mr. Robertson continued to eye him with a mistrustful glint, Jack added, "How do you explain the earth moving? Or historical figures suddenly showing up in the middle of the city? We aren't alone in this universe."

"Why?" Mr. Robertson's tone was abrupt. "Why come to me? Why not any of the other people who were quite happy to tell anyone who listened about the aliens?"

"You're the only one in Wales and I'm a bit pressed for time." Jack holstered his Webley in a show of faith. "They took my lover and unless I find out where the aliens are at, I'm never going to see him again."

"Him." Mr. Robertson sighed. "Are they trying to make him pregnant, too?"

Jack slid his hands inside his pockets, fingering the bottle of retcon. "They more than tried it, they succeeded. He's pregnant with my baby."

Mr. Robertson's mouth fell open. "How—?"

"I really don't have time to explain everything. Let's just say that the aliens have changed their methods a little, and now they have my lover, my unborn baby, and I don't think they plan on sticking around nearby for much longer." Jack glanced down at the floor, surprised to see a cat crawling out from under the bed, peering up at him. "Please. What can you tell me?"

Mr. Robertson still looked reluctant, but some of Jack's desperation must have come through because the man nodded. "I was walking down the street after I left a bar. Past midnight, it was. As I passed by an alley, I hear crying. I look and see a little girl. I thought she was lost. I got close so I can help her, but as soon as I touched her I was in this place—machines and steel. That's what I remember." He scowled. "I think that was their gimmick, looking like little girls to lure in their victims."

"And then what?" The cat crawled closer to Jack's feet. He gently nudged it away.

"They strapped me down and cut me open. Put something inside of me. Then I was stuffed in a room."

"Was there a window?" Mr. Robertson nodded and Jack felt the first stirring of hope. "What did you see?"

"Stars. Lots of stars." He paused, a fierce look of concentration on his face. "The ship wasn't flying or floating or even moving, it was sitting on a surface with craters. Like the moon?" He moved his finger around in a circular motion. "But I was able to see a planet, I think. It had something around it. Rings, maybe."

That would narrow down the planets to four: Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, and Uranus. Assuming, of course, the Yamni were still in the solar system and hadn't decided to leave through time or space. But Jack had to believe that they hadn't left yet.

"Colour? Do you remember what the planet looked like?"

Mr. Robertson grimaced. "Sorry, mate. I'm a bit colour-blind. See the world in shades of black and white. Literally."

Damn it. He didn't know why he expected this to be easy. It never was.

"What else?"

"That's it. Kept me in the room for three weeks before they let me out. They said the baby didn't survive, and that's when I realized what they were doing. They cut me open a couple of more times before they decided that I wasn't compatible. Then they sent me home." The cat jumped on Mr. Robertson's lap. He shoved the rifle out of the way in order to hold the cat in his arms, as if he was taking comfort from the tiny animal. "I did notice one thing. That little girl? She was the leader. She barked the orders. The other people followed what she said."

"How many were there?"

"Thirteen, maybe fourteen."

Fourteen? Jack could only remember seeing six. That meant at least eight were missing. Were they on the spaceship? Did the others stay behind to better monitor Ianto's pregnancy?

"Anything else?"

He shrugged. "One of the aliens was nice. He didn't like the little girl. He told me he had some real issues following orders from her after she killed his wife."

* * *

><p>With Mr. Robertson retconned, Jack drove back to the hub in record time.<p>

As soon as he entered the main hub, he said, "Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, and Neptune." He ran to the nearest computer. "Mr. Robertson said he was on a moon and that he saw a planet with rings. They have to be on the moon of one of those planets."

"Which moon?" Terry, along with Gwen and Nia, surrounded him. "Those planets alone have more than a hundred moons combined."

"I know." Jack rapidly typed on the keyboard of the computer. "But there are four of us, so we're each going to look at the moons of each planet."

"How?" Gwen asked.

"Torchwood London had its own satellites floating around to monitor our solar system to see if any aliens decided to enter it. I took them offline once Torchwood London went down because I didn't need them." He found the command keys that would turn the satellites on. "Once I turn them back online, the information they collect—images, life sources, anything that shouldn't be in our solar system—will be transmitted here."

"But if Torchwood London had these satellites and the Yamni have been around for quite a few centuries, wouldn't the satellites have already caught them by now?" Nia asked.

"The satellites are like security cameras. They can't monitor every inch of space. Find a blind spot and you'll be fine. But we're going to redirect the satellites to the moons of the planets."

He stepped away from the computer. "Gwen, you're going to handle Neptune." He moved to another computer, bringing up the satellite information. "Terry, Uranus is all yours." He ran to a third computer. "Nia, you've got Jupiter." He entered his office and turned on his laptop. "And I've got Saturn. Use the arrow keys to guide the satellite. Ever play computer games? It's kinda like that. Remember, we're looking for a spaceship, and it could look like anything, so make sure the satellite detects life forms."

"Jack?"

He looked up from the screen of his laptop. "What?"

Gwen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What if they aren't in our solar system?"

He regarded her concerned expression. "Let's not think about that, okay?" This was the only solid lead they had. He didn't want to see it as a dead-end before they even got started. "Start looking."

Gwen made a sound of acknowledgement before focusing on her computer. Once he was connected to his own satellite, he began to use the arrow keys, looking at the clear image of space. It was gorgeous, the amount of stars that twinkled, the planets moving slightly, the sun blazing. He used to have such a strong itch to travel through that dark sky, to visit faraway places. He had once been considered the best spaceship pilot, the one most willing to take on the more dangerous of assignments in the Time Agency. Nothing had been able to tie him down in those days.

Now he was living with his lover, they were expecting a baby, and Jack couldn't be any happier. As he guided his satellite, he was nostalgic as he looked at the stars, but the itch to travel was dim. He was content here, leading his new team and putting down roots with Ianto. For the first time in a long time, he was genuinely happy.

He would get Ianto back, Jack determined. He didn't care what he needed to do or where he needed to go, he would get Ianto back. He promised to protect them, and after so many broken promises, this was one promise he refused to break.

* * *

><p>Ianto was groggy when he woke up. His vision was blurry and his brain felt disconnected, as if it short-circuited. He saw figures around him and heard voices, but none of it made sense.<p>

". . . third trimester . . ."

". . . baby is quite healthy . . ."

". . . keep him isolated . . ."

Baby. Salted Peanut. Maddox. Just as Ianto was starting to piece everything together, a hand rubbed his forehead and a voice whispered for him to sleep. The darkness beckoned and he flew towards it.

When he woke up again, he wasn't as groggy. He was lying on his side, a blanket draped over him. He blinked his eyes a few times and found himself staring at bars like one would see of a jail cell. He carefully sat up, and it didn't take long for his mind to finish putting the pieces together as his memories returned. He and Jack in the shop, the Yamni appearing, running to the car, Jack dying, and Ichtaca grabbing him from behind.

He lifted a hand to his neck and felt a small scab on the side. Bloody bitch.

Ianto shook off the blanket to swing his legs over the side of his bed as he looked around.

Okay, it wasn't a jail cell. In fact, it looked exactly like a bedroom. A couple of windows that gave a close-up view of space—Ianto was momentarily startled to have a clear view of the stars—the large bed he was sitting on, a wardrobe, a desk, a bookcase stuffed with books, and even a carpeted floor. There was also a door that led into a small but usable bathroom, complete with toiletries. The only thing that proved this bedroom to be a cell was the large bars that occupied the spot where a fourth wall should have been.

He approached the bars, wrapping his hands around the steel poles. He peered at what lay before his prison. Nothing much, actually. Just two desks that contained transparent images floating above them. They seemed like the images found on the monitors of Terry's medical equipment whenever the redhead checked on someone's heart rate or vitals. Holograms. Ianto gasped slightly when a hologram revealed the unmistakable image of a baby, curled in his little sac and moving around. Was it his baby? Ianto glanced around his jail cell. Was something scanning him, producing a hologram of his baby, or was it a recording from an examination they had performed when he had been unconscious?

His room seemed contained inside a much larger room with white walls, white floors, and a long mirror. He could see his own reflection, and his surprise was very much visible on his face.

"Hey!" His voice echoed. Ianto banged on the bars with his clenched hand. "I want to talk to someone. Now!"

Ianto continued to shout and hit the bars until a section of the wall slid open. Ichtaca bounced in, looking a lot happier than Ianto has ever seen her. And why wouldn't she be happy? She got what she wanted.

She wore glasses and a tiny lab coat suited for her height. She even had on high heels, reminding him of a little girl playing dress-up.

"Let me out of here," he demanded.

Ichtaca approached the desks, examining the holograms. "You best stay calm. Your blood pressure is a bit too high."

"Not surprising, considering you kidnapped me and have me locked up."

She blinked at him. "Locked up? Don't you like your room?"

"Room? It's a cell, a prison. You people just made it look pretty."

Ichtaca approached the cell, but kept out of hands reach. Damn it. Ianto would've given anything for her to get close enough so he could choke her. "We wanted you to be comfortable until the time came."

"What time? And where the hell am I?"

"You're in our spaceship. It's here where we came up with potential experiments. I'm sure your mate told you our story?"

"Yes, he did, and if the Yamni is made up of cold-hearted people like you, then I'm damn glad you're all going to be dead."

"We only did what we had to do to continue our species."

Ianto glowered at her. "At the expense of others' wishes."

Ichtaca arched a brow before she returned to the desks. "You don't seem to realize that you're doing an extraordinary thing. A pity, really. Your child is the first sign of hope that the Yamni will continue to prosper and grow." She gave him a mocking smile. "You should be proud."

Ianto tightened his lips a little. Then he asked, "You didn't explain what you meant when you said that I'll be comfortable until the time came."

"For the baby's birth, of course. Once that occurs, we can go."

Ianto's heart stuttered. "Go where?"

"To the Saleteru galaxy. It won't really exist for another few thousand years, so we'll need to travel through time to get there. That's where the Yamni took refuge after our home planets were destroyed."

Oh god. Ianto's palms grew moist. "And then what? What plans do you have for my baby?"

"There will be offers as to who will mate with him, and the perfect candidates will help your child breed the next generation of the Yamni. We believe your child will produce well over fifty children."

She sounded so excited, and his resentment grew as he realized what they planned to do with his son. A breeding slave, forced to have sex and produce children without having any choice in the matter.

"As for you," she continued, "you'll be mated with a few females, and maybe a couple of males."

"You told Jack that the gene that enabled me to get pregnant is active only temporarily."

"Yes, but if we continue to give you the drug, we can ensure that the gene will never become inactive."

Ianto tightened his fingers around the bars. "Will I be allowed to be near my child?"

"Your child will be busy, and so will you."

Goddamn it. He would never see his child again. Once his son was born, he would be taken from him, given away, used to be bred. A slave. Ianto didn't give a damn about himself, but he desperately sought for a way to keep his child from that kind of life.

"Take me," he blurted. Ichtaca looked at him bewilderedly. "Just me. After the baby is born—please, just give him to his other father." He remembered Jack's refusal to support Ianto's idea of giving himself up in order to save the baby, but if it worked, if his baby was safe, then Ianto would be able to live as a breeding slave. He would endure it. "Just take me."

Ichtaca waved her hand, dismissing his words. "That's impossible. The baby's other father, your mate, is dead, and the chances of you getting pregnant multiple times are slimmer when compared to your child. You might produce another child in a few years, or in a few decades, but as soon as your child is of age, he will be able to breed one child every year or so."

"You have to wait for him to be of age, anyway."

"Not necessarily." She didn't even look at him, keeping her eyes on the holograms as her fingers moved swiftly across the surface of the desk. There was probably some sort of touchpad there. "We plan to speed up the process a bit, make him grow up faster. What would have taken years will only take weeks."

That was almost no different than what Terry had done to speed up the incubation period for his rats. Ianto and his child truly were nothing more than animals to the Yamni.

He gasped sharply when a twinge of pain gripped the side of his stomach. He placed his hand there, turning away from the bars and making his way to the bed to sit down.

Ichtaca smiled, the stretch of her lips just a tad hollow. "Best be careful there. If you don't calm down you might induce premature labour."

"You're keeping me prisoner. How do you expect me to calm down?" Ianto breathed deeply, easing the twinge of pain. Ichtaca was an evil alien, but she was right. Ianto needed to calm down.

"Why do you think you have a room with everything you need? Rest assured, we do have the best equipment for a successful birth, but it's better if the baby isn't born full-term. You do know the risks, don't you?"

Again, that mocking tone. He was really getting tired of the way she spoke to him.

The pain now gone, Ianto continued to rub at his stomach, trying to sooth his child as he glared at his captor. "You're a bitch," he hissed.

"I'm a scientist." Ichtaca returned her attention to the holograms. "A meal will be brought to you later. Until then, there are books for you to enjoy."

With that, she finished what she was doing and left. Ianto didn't move from the bed, turning just enough to look at the hologram. There was little doubt in his mind that the baby in the hologram was none other than the one resting inside of him. The baby seemed okay, but Ianto wasn't a doctor or a scientist. He would have to rely on the Yamni to let him know if anything was wrong.

"Not yet, baby," he murmured. "You have to stay in there a little longer, okay?"

He looked towards the books filling up the bookcase, but he ignored it in favour of going to the window.

It was a gorgeous view of space, the millions of stars seeming to be much brighter. It was dark, not much sunlight, if any at all, but he could see what he presumed was a planet with rings around it, and what looked like yellowish-orange atmospheric gases

How many planets were encircled by rings and contained a gaseous atmosphere? There were four, he knew that for a fact. He struggled to figure out exactly which planet it was.

It couldn't be Jupiter. Jupiter had segregated bands that were quite visible and the Great Red Spot. This planet didn't have either. Neptune? No. Neptune was supposed to look blue, didn't it? Uranus was supposed to look blue, too.

That left Saturn. Was he on one of the moons? Looking at the surface of what the ship was on, it was white with dozens of craters.

So he kind of had an idea of where he was, but how did that help him? How would he get back to earth? Ianto chewed on his inner cheek for a second as he thought about his predicament. Slowly, an idea came to mind. If he could somehow connect to the hub's database, he could transmit his general location, tell them he was on one of the moons of Saturn. That will alert Jack of where he was, and maybe get Ianto back home.

But he needed to get out of this cell.

He checked the perimeter of the cell, but failed to find any way out. The bars were sturdy, the walls thick, and there weren't really any weapons he could use. There were no weak spots that he could see. He even checked the floor, but he couldn't even spy a crack. He muttered a curse. His plan would be worthless if he didn't find a way out.

He returned to the window, taking comfort from the scenery. Now he had a better understanding of Jack's love for travelling through the stars. It was beautiful out there, even from his prison.

He turned at the sound of the section of the wall sliding opened. A slim man with purple eyes and straight purplish hair hanging down to his waist entered. He had piercings down the rims of both ears, on his lip, and on his nose. His black clothing made his skin looked slightly pale, despite the white lab coat he wore.

Ianto's eyes narrowed. He knew what the other Yamni looked like thanks to Jack pointing them out to him a few months back, and after seeing them up close at the department store, but he didn't recall seeing this one. He would have remembered.

"Hello." Ianto was taken off-guard by the sound of his unmistakably Welsh accent. "I'm Bidziil, your caregiver." He lifted his hands, presenting a tray with a bowl and utensils on it. "I brought you dinner."

Ianto glanced down at the tray, seeing the bowl filled with . . . something. Looked like porridge, except it was blue and looked lumpy. He grimaced. "I'm not hungry."

The Yamni crouched down in front of the bars and placed the tray on the floor, and then he tapped something on what looked like a watch that surrounded his wrist. Ianto watched as three of the cell bars split in the middle. There was about a foot of space, big enough for the tray to be pushed through.

"Eat. It's good for the baby."

"I think I know what's good for my child, thank you," Ianto snapped. He remained by the window.

"It's good," he persisted. "I know it doesn't look appetizing, but I promise it's good." There was eagerness in his eyes.

Ianto turned away, deciding to ignore him and stare out the window.

After a few minutes, he realized that he hadn't heard the sound of the wall moving. A glance over his shoulder revealed Bidziil still standing by the bars, staring at him. Or more specifically, staring at his belly. He didn't look arrogant or smug the way Ichtaca did whenever she looked at him. This Yamni looked rather sad.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ianto demanded.

Bidziil lifted his gaze. "How does it feel like? Having a baby inside of you."

"Why?"

Bidziil's eyes grew even sadder, mournful even. "I wanted a baby for so long. To feel it grow inside me. I was heartbroken when I learned that I would never get to have that experience."

It was odd to hear from a male, even a male who was alien, to talk of pregnancy as though it was the most natural thing in the world for a man to get pregnant. Ianto supposed that in the world of Yamni, it was natural, but in Ianto's world, his pregnancy was an exception (a very rare exception), not the rule. Still, this one seemed genuinely heartbroken by his inability to conceive.

Ianto had to admit that while this pregnancy wasn't something he wished to endure again, the experience was more than he had expected it to be. Part frustrating, part unsettling, and part absolutely brilliant. To feel his baby grow inside him, to form that bond, to feel every sensation of his son's movements, it was a feeling Ianto didn't know how to describe without using some cliché.

He shrugged. "It feels beautiful." It was the only thing he could say.

Bidziil looked crushed. He indicated the tray of food. "Eat." He quickly left.

"That was odd," Ianto muttered.

Even more odd was that the tray had been left in that foot of space, and it hadn't crashed into the ground despite resting on top of three bars that were only about four inches in diameter. Ianto shuffled close to examine it, but he couldn't find anything to explain why its balance was stable. He grabbed the tray and pulled it out of the opening, and as soon as he had it in his hands the bars reconnected. Ianto glanced up and down the length of the bars, trying to see what made them move. There didn't seem to be anything.

He peered down at the food, but it still looked as unappetizing as it did when he first saw it. He placed it on the desk and returned to look out at the stars.

He spent a while at the window before moving to the bookcase of books, the collection varying from thrillers to romance novels, which flabbergasted Ianto as to why the aliens would think that he would want to read about women and men falling in love. As time wore on—a difficult thing to calculate when there were no clocks to tell him how long it has been since he woke up—his stomach began to grumble.

He rubbed his belly, trying to convince his son to hold out on food. Unfortunately, his baby wasn't listening. With a sigh of defeat, he waddled to the desk and sat on the chair. Grasping the spoon, he dipped it into the goop and took out a spoonful, bringing it to his face and sniffing it. It didn't smell too bad. He briefly wondered if it was poisoned, but that was quickly dispelled. The Yamni wanted him and the baby to be safe and healthy, not dead.

He warily put it in his mouth, expecting the taste to be vile, but he was pleasantly surprised when it tasted sugary sweet.

His situation was shitty, but at least he wouldn't starve.

* * *

><p>Ianto had no clue how much time passed, but he quickly learned that there were at least ten aliens on board, including Ichtaca. That had answered his unasked question of whether there were more Yamni on Ichtaca's team or just the few Ianto had previously seen. All of them had at some point entered the room where his cell was housed, but the two who Ianto saw the most were Ichtaca and Bidziil.<p>

Ichtaca was arrogant, constantly mocking him, acting superior as she—metaphorically speaking, of course—looked down her nose at him, her interest more focused on the baby and his future than on Ianto. Bidziil, on the other hand, was kinder, his interest more about the baby's and Ianto's health. Made sense, since Bidziil was his supposed caregiver, but Ianto partly wondered if they were playing a version of good cop, bad cop. Have one act like a bitch so Ianto could trust the one who was kind. Ianto's suspicions made him mistrust both.

Ianto spent the time reading a few books, listening to music, and writing in a little makeshift diary he found in the bookcase. He even managed to sleep from time to time, though he slept fitfully, unable to truly feel safe to let his guard down long enough to have a restful sleep.

But the lack of any kind of device to tell him the time—or even the day—was starting to drive him crazy. When Bidziil came to deliver his meal and check on his vitals, Ianto asked, "How long have I been here?"

The alien placed the tray in the opening of the bars. "Three earth days."

Three days? That was it? It felt much longer than that.

"Why haven't we gone anywhere?"

The Yamni blinked. "What do you mean?"

It was something that has been bothering Ianto, the fact that now that they had him, they still haven't moved from wherever they were. One would think that they'd take him as far away from earth as possible so he could be out of Jack's reach. "Why haven't we gone to where the other Yamni are? Ichtaca said we wouldn't go anywhere until the baby's born. Why?"

"Your pregnancy is delicate. To travel will not be good for your baby, especially if we travel through time."

Ianto studied his caregiver. "Why do you sound Welsh? And why do you all look human?"

Bidziil smiled slightly. "A while back, I was in Wales to watch over a few of the men who were chosen to take the drugs. Speaking Welsh made it easier to blend in."

"Not if you have purple hair and purple eyes."

Bidziil fingered his hair. "This was an accident. The appearance I absorbed had purple hair and purple eyes."

In spite of himself, Ianto was curious. "Humans don't have purple hair or purple eyes."

"I know." Bidziil pursed his lips. "What do you know of the Yamni?"

"You killed my lover, you can teleport, and your home planets were either obliterated or tainted."

"I didn't participate in the killing of your mate." Bidziil glanced down. "I, too, lost my mate. I understand the pain it causes and wouldn't want to aid in creating that kind of pain for another."

Ianto bit his tongue so his face would reflect some notion of pain. They didn't have to know that Jack wasn't dead. "I'm so sorry about your mate," he said.

"And I'm sorry about yours."

Ianto changed the subject. "What did you mean when you said that the appearance you absorbed had purple hair and eyes?"

"When we touch a particular species, our bodies absorb how they look at the time of contact. Our bodies then change, taking in every aspect of the appearance we absorbed, even aspects that aren't natural. Like you said, humans don't naturally have hair or eyes that are purple, but the human I touched had such characteristics so they became a part of my appearance." Bidziil smiled wryly. "I miscalculated in my travels to earth's surface and had no choice but to absorb the image of the closest human."

Ianto didn't quite understand, but when it came to alien species, there were a lot of things he couldn't and wouldn't understand no matter how hard he tried. "So why can't you change?"

"It's permanent while we're here. We're too weak to change again, not unless we want to kill ourselves. That's why Ichtaca looks like a child. Like me, her choice of appearance was an accident."

"Bet she didn't like that," Ianto muttered.

Bidziil laughed. "No, she didn't. In our true forms she is the biggest and strongest. Now she is the tiniest. Still strong in her powers, but looks are just as important to her."

Ianto's baby kicked, and he rubbed at the sore spot. He thought about ending the conversation there, but his curiosity was piqued even more. A nugget of a plan to escape the cell was starting to form as well. He needed to know more about the Yamni, their weaknesses and strengths, before Ianto did anything rash. If Bidziil was willing to talk, why not take advantage of it?

"Since you absorb the appearances of others, I'm assuming you don't look like humans in your real forms."

"Not human enough to blend in without a little help." Bidziil lifted a hand and projected an image from the palm of his hand, much like a hologram. It showed an image of a face that looked like a human, except that there was no mouth or ears, the scalp elongated in the shape of a sharp oval. The eyes were big, with a tiny third eye in the forehead. "Yamni have no vocal cords. We speak with our minds, and hear with tiny holes on the sides of our heads where human's ears reside."

Ianto looked up from the image. "If you have no vocal cords, how is it that you're talking to me?"

"We can absorb vocal chords from the species that have them, but when we first use them we tend to sound robotic."

The image projecting from Bidziil's palm blurred for a second before refocusing. It showed the same head, but it was now attached to a thin body, four-fingered hands hanging down either side of the body, the skin colour changing from the peachy colour of the head to something close to ash by the time the skin moved down to the tiny three-toed feet. Shorts covered the image's genitals. It made Ianto wonder if Yamni even had genitals.

They didn't look too alien-ish, but they wouldn't have survived twenty-first century earth where anybody who didn't look normal was looked upon as a freak.

Bidziil closed his hand to dispel the hologram. "You should eat now while I check on your vitals."

Ianto didn't push. He didn't want his desire for more information to make Bidziil suspicious. He grabbed his tray and went to the desk. It was the same goop, but the taste was different. It was always different. Sometimes it was sweet, other times it tasted like beef, one time it even tasted like fish. This time it tasted like vanilla.

When he finished, he stood up and went to the bars as he tried to find a way to reopen the conversation with Bidziil, but before he could come up with a way to start their conversation, Ichtaca arrived.

She went straight to Bidziil where they began to talk, but the language they spoke was foreign, a language that he knew wasn't from earth. Ianto concentrated on their hand gestures, their expressions. From what he could tell, they were currently arguing. About him, if the glances were of any indication.

Abruptly, Ichtaca walked towards the bars, a certain gleam in her eye that made Ianto nervous. He stifled a groan when there was a twinge of pain in his abdomen. That happened a lot when she was near, and Bidziil had discovered that his blood pressure spiked whenever she was around.

He pulled away from the bars to sit on the bed. He breathed deeply to ease the minor ache in his stomach and closed his eyes, but in doing so he began to feel just a tad sleepy. He opened his eyes and shook his head, but his lids were unusually heavy. He just wanted to lie down and sleep.

_Drugged_.

He tried to glare at Ichtaca. "What did you give me?"

"Nothing to worry about, just a tiny sedative in your food so I can go in there and check your belly."

Bidziil snapped at her in their language, but she waved her hand dismissively, as if his words were of no importance.

Ianto found himself falling sideways on the bed, feeling muscle after muscle relax. When his eyes drifted shut again, he attempted to reopen them, but he failed to do anything more than flutter them. Ianto succumbed to the drug, the darkness embracing him like an old friend, but before he was pulled completely under, he heard Ichtaca whisper, "Now then, let's see how our little baby is doing."


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

Bidziil tried to reassure him that the food wasn't drugged, but Ianto ignored him, pretending to read. After yesterday's little trick, Ianto wasn't too keen on being drugged again.

"Ianto." Bidziil was exasperated. "You cannot do this to yourself. Think of your baby."

"I _am_ thinking of my baby," he finally said. He closed his book and glowered at Bidziil through the bars. "I can't protect my baby if I'm unconscious, so I won't be touching any of that shit you give me."

"I didn't know it was drugged, I promise. Ichtaca did it, that's why I snapped at her."

"Why should I trust you? Why should I trust any of you?"

"Because I honestly care about your welfare." Bidziil sighed. "Do you know why I was chosen as your caregiver?"

"Does it look like I care?" Ianto muttered.

"It wasn't by accident. I'm one of many healers for the Yamni. A doctor, to use a human term, and I was chosen by the Yamni leaders to join this team. Before I was given my orders, I used to take care of others, treated their illnesses, their pains, and if there's one thing I have learned during this trip to earth, it's that no matter the species, a healer's goal remains the same. We heal and protect, not hurt and kill." He nodded at the tray. "I promise this isn't tampered with."

Ianto didn't want to trust him. Common sense told him not to trust him. But while Ianto could have tried to outlast the temptation for food, he couldn't do it while pregnant. The constant twinges of pain were worrying him as he remembered the pain he had felt a few months ago when his body had tried to force a miscarriage. Now the aches of pain were an indication that he needed to relax to prevent premature labour, but not eating properly would just as likely have negative consequences.

Reluctantly, he slid out of bed and grabbed the tray. Seemingly satisfied, Bidziil walked to his workstation while Ianto took his tray to the desk. He eyed it for several seconds before he warily took a few bites, then he waited for the drug to take effect. After five minutes in which nothing happened, he took a few more bites before taking another pause to see if he would get sleepy. He followed the same pattern throughout his meal, which lasted a lot longer than usual.

When he was done, he returned the tray back to the little opening in between the bars. "Why did she drug me?"

Bidziil looked up from the folder he was writing in. "She wanted a closer look at your body."

"She could've just come in and asked."

Bidziil smiled at Ianto's sweet tone. "She doesn't want to hurt you, so she would rather have you sedated so she can examine you rather than risk hurting you when you fight back." His smile vanished. "But her intelligence makes her arrogant. She thinks she knows everything. She could've easily killed you by giving you too much of the sedative."

"Well, that's comforting," Ianto managed to say, turning away from the bars slightly as Bidziil's words ignited a tendril of fear. Since his kidnapping, he has been worried, angry, wary, and determined, but learning that he could have died last night made him just a little afraid for his life. He couldn't let the fear grow, though. Fear wouldn't help him. Instead, he channelled the fear to strengthen his determination to find a way out.

He turned back to the bars. "You and she don't get along, I gather."

Bidziil gave a derisive snort. "That's being generous."

Ianto chewed on that. This could be promising. "Is it because of her arrogance?"

"It's because I disapprove of her methods. Manipulation and fear. I also wish for the Yamni race to survive, but not like this. Not by forcing male humans to endure pregnancies without knowing why or how. It's revolting."

"Do the others feel the same way?" Ianto asked casually.

"Doubt it. They're all scientists; they look at humans as subjects, not people."

So that only left Bidziil. This worked well in Ianto's favour. Ianto's plan to escape involved tapping into Bidziil's compassion, make him think that he had earned Ianto's trust so Ianto could ask him for help to escape. The odds would be against him, with only Bidziil at his side when several other aliens roamed the spaceship, but Ianto was betting that they wouldn't hurt him, not when he was carrying their future inside of him.

Ianto winced at another sharp pain at his side, the slight movement catching Bidziil's eye. "Are you all right?"

"Nothing, I just felt—" The sharp pain returned, lingering enough to make him bend over.

"I was afraid of this." Ianto heard Bidziil speak through a haze of pain, and he was suddenly there, helping Ianto back into bed. Ianto took shallow breaths, seeing Bidziil hovering over him with one hand on his stomach. It was glowing gold in much the same way their eyes glowed.

"What is it? Why does it hurt? Is the baby coming already?"

Before Bidziil could answer any of his questions, the section of the wall slid open to admit Ichtaca, who quickly strode to a large opening in the bars. Ianto stared at the opening as it occurred to him that Bidziil was _inside_ the cell with him.

Ianto groaned and let his head fall back, the newfound knowledge temporarily put to the backburner as he endured the pain.

"What's wrong?" Ichtaca demanded. "Is it time?"

Bidziil took a long moment to answer. Then he shook his head. "No. I believe this is another result of his high blood pressure." He suddenly scowled at her. "Which isn't helped by your presence."

She scowled in return. "This is my experiment—"

"And this is my patient." Bidziil turned back to Ianto. "I'm going to soothe the pain a bit, okay?"

The pain slowly faded to a dull ache before it vanished completely. Ianto took a deep breath. Ianto's eyes strayed back to the opening in the bars, which was about the size of a door. His survival instincts told him to take this chance and run. Another instinct, one Ianto recognized as his paternal instinct, told him to stay. He wouldn't make it to the doorway, not with Ichtaca standing right there. Ianto couldn't trust her not to freeze him or something to prevent him from running.

If he remained where he was, it might also implant a seedling of trust in Bidziil.

"There we are," Bidziil murmured. "All is well. We really need to lower your blood pressure. That may lead to other complications besides premature labour."

When Bidziil stood, Ianto looked away, not moving a muscle. He heard their steps moving away from his bed, and when he turned back, the doorway in the bars was gone. He heard Bidziil and Ichtaca begin to argue, but Ianto tuned them out, placing his hands on his stomach. "Not yet, baby," he whispered. "Your dad needs to find a way back home first, okay?"

Ianto closed his eyes, hoping that Jack was doing his own part in bringing them home.

* * *

><p>Jack stood on the roof, watching the nightlife of Cardiff come to life down below in the streets before him. They were like ants from his high position, the men and women bustling down the pavements, shopping and dining.<p>

He took in a deep breath of fresh air, tilting his head back to stare at the few stars visible through the mostly cloudy sky.

Ianto was up there somewhere, and Jack was stuck down here, standing on a rooftop because had Gwen kicked him out of the hub.

In hindsight, perhaps she had done the right thing. It has been a week since Ianto's kidnapping, and so far they have failed to find any glimpse of a life form or spaceship on the moons of the four planets. It was a tedious task, observing every inch of the moons' surface, yet one he felt was necessary so he would miss nothing, but the task was hampered by the need to check out rift alerts and the need for sleep. Jack has kept his duty to watch over the rift and whatever it has spit out, but he has avoided sleep in order to spend time on his laptop so he could try to locate the Yamni's spaceship.

His lack of sleep, his frustration of accomplishing nothing, and the pressure to find Ianto before he was taken out of their solar system had made him irritable, snappish, and at times even unnecessarily harsh with the others for not working fast enough, for not spending enough time looking. Gwen had taken it upon herself to kick him out, ordering him to get his act together and come back when he was in a much better mood. He had left not because he was following her orders, but because his urge to violently shove her aside so he could go back inside the hub told him that he needed to get out.

Jack thought about contacting the Doctor, but doing so didn't guarantee that the Doctor would arrive in time, or if he would even help at all. It would kill Jack for the Doctor to arrive only to tell him that Ianto's kidnapping was meant to happen, that they couldn't mess with the timeline, and knowing the Doctor, Jack would've been kept in the dark about what happened to his lover and child. That wouldn't have stopped Jack from trying to find them, but he would've had a much harder time finding them with the Doctor blocking his attempts or making him feel guilty about possibly creating a paradox.

Letting out a frustrated grunt, Jack turned around and left the roof. He was still too agitated to return to the hub, so he opted to go home. He really hasn't ventured there as of late, but maybe going home would give him some much needed comfort.

The first thing Jack saw when the lift dropped him off on the top floor was a big brown box sitting in front of his flat's door. Frowning, Jack cautiously approached it, not remembering ordering anything that warranted a delivery. He looked at the receiver—_Ianto Jones_—before looking at the sender's name pasted on the left corner of the box. It was a baby shop. It must be something Ianto decided to buy for their baby.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open, letting it swing wide so he could use his foot to push the box forward. Once it was inside, he shut the door behind him and continued to push the box until it sat in the living room. Taking off his coat and tossing it onto the couch, he sat down and used his keys to rip the packaging tape. Once he got the flaps opened, he peered inside to see pieces packaged inside clear plastic bags. He took them out one piece at a time, seeing what almost looked like a folded blanket, a few fake animals, and long soft poles. Jack eventually found the instructions buried at the bottom, and he realized it was a baby gym. Ianto had wanted one of these for the baby, something for Salted Peanut to amuse himself with when his fathers were too tired to play with him.

Jack opened the instructions and laid it flat on the floor. Then he got to work.

Twenty minutes later, the baby gym was fully assembled. There was a large picture of a jungle in the blanket while the little lions, owls, and bears hung from hooks that were attached to the crossed poles. The ends of the poles were tied to four hooks made of fabric that were located at the corners of the blanket. The gym was perfect for the baby to play with.

Impulsively, he lay down on the floor and wiggled until his head was under the hanging animals. He lifted a hand to play with them, flicking them with his fingers. Something rattled, and when he flicked another animal, a musical sound greeted his ear. Jack chuckled.

Salted Peanut was going to enjoy this.

Jack amused himself for a little bit before he rested his hands on his stomach and closed his eyes, taking a moment to concentrate on his little family, and he didn't mean his Torchwood family. While Gwen, Terry, Nia, Ianto, and any other Torchwood operatives coming his way would be enfolded into the Torchwood family, Jack's personal family was narrowed down to Ianto and the baby. He hadn't planned it that way, hadn't planned to get attached at all. Working for Torchwood and being an immortal had taught him that attachments would only end in heartbreak.

The problem was that despite logic telling him to keep a distance, to stick with one-night stands or gropes in the darkness of alleys, his emotions tended to take a life of their own, always making him fall in love when he shouldn't.

He tilted his head to look out the windows to view the stars, hoping that wherever Ianto was, he would be strong enough to wait just a little longer.

* * *

><p>Ianto watched Bidziil at his workstation. Ianto had asked him a couple of days earlier what exactly he was doing, and apparently Bidziil was logging in every little twitch the baby made, and every little blip that came out of the audio feed from the desks (which Ianto now suspected were some kind of alien keyboards with speakers). It was an intensive study, Bidziil had answered.<p>

Ianto wished this "intensive study" could stop the twinges of pain that have occurred daily in the past week. Bidziil assured him that the sac wasn't disintegrating, but Ianto knew that the twinges were related to his blood pressure, which refused to go down. It seemed to go higher the longer he was on the spaceship, and Ianto worried that the twinges were a warning that the birth was going to happen sooner than any of them wanted. If his suspicions were true, that meant Ianto was running out of time. He needed to contact Torchwood before his time was up, otherwise he and his baby would be stuck as breeding slaves for the rest of their lives.

Bidziil was looking at a hologram intently, absently making notes in a folder. He seemed to genuinely care, as worried about the painful spasms as Ianto was. Ianto had wanted to cement a friendship between them, one that was strong enough for Bidziil not to deny Ianto's request for help, but it looked like he would have to ask for help now, and he hoped that Bidziil held enough compassion to aid him. Surely Bidziil would realize that being inside a cell, no matter how lavish it was, wasn't where Ianto belonged.

Ianto rubbed his stomach as he took in his attire. He wore sweatpants, a loose shirt, and a pair of thick socks that adorned his feet. Not exactly what he wanted to wear during his escape, but at least it let him move freely. It would have to do.

He lifted his chin high and loudly said, "I don't belong in here." Bidziil didn't look up, but his body visibly froze. Ianto pressed his point. "I don't belong in here and you know it."

Bidziil glanced at him, but just as quickly looked away. "Are you hungry?"

"Don't try to change the subject. You and I both know why my blood pressure isn't going down. I can try to relax as hard as I can, but so long as I'm in here, in this spaceship, I'll never be able to relax."

The alien looked back down. "There are always several factors—"

"Lay off it, Bidziil." Ianto clasped his hands together and placed them on his stomach. He kept his voice strong and steady. "You know I shouldn't be here. I had high blood pressure before I came here because I was stressed and worried about the Yamni and now actually being here, imprisoned and away from my home, only serve to keep my blood pressure high. How else do you explain these sharp pains? I didn't have them on earth."

Bidziil looked at him with guilt in his purple eyes. "I'm doing my best to ensure a safe pregnancy."

"No, you're not, because the best thing to ensure a safe pregnancy is for me to go back home where I have friends, a family." Ianto took a moment for the alien to absorb what he said before he continued. "You don't even approve of the whole experiment. You've seen how unhappy I'm here. The very idea that I will be separated from my child—" The hitch in Ianto's voice was very much real. He cleared his throat. "The very idea that I'll never see my baby after he's born hurts. I won't survive it."

Ianto stayed silent until Bidziil lifted his head to look at him again. If he wasn't mistaken, Ianto thought he could see Bidziil's eyes soften, a glint of acknowledgment that Ianto's words were the truth, but Ianto's words hadn't won him over just yet. "Even if I helped you, we wouldn't get far. Ichtaca is obsessed with this experiment. She won't let you go and she'll kill me."

"Let me contact my friends. If I can contact them, they'll help. Just help me leave the cell so I can do it, and then I'll come back, and we'll pretend that nothing happened." When Bidziil said nothing, Ianto pleaded with him. "You said you were sad that you would never have children. Don't help her take mine."

He was breaking down, Ianto could see it. There was conflict in Bidziil's eyes, his gaze straying to the hologram of the baby. Ianto held his breath, waiting for it, waiting for Bidziil to finally give in.

Except that Ichtaca chose that moment to enter. They both glanced at her automatically, but when they turned back to look at each other, Ianto slumped against the pillows when he saw the apologetic look in Bidziil's eyes. He wasn't going to help.

"How's our patient?"

Ichtaca sounded absolutely chipper. Ianto glowered at her.

"Nothing has changed. The baby is healthy, and Ianto will be healthy once we manage to lower his blood pressure somehow."

Ianto held back a snort. Going home would lower it, and they both knew it. Ichtaca probably knew it as well; she just didn't want to let her precious experiment slip through her fingers. If it was up to her, she would've given him a drug or two in order to force his blood pressure to go down. She had suggested it not too long ago, but Bidziil had rejected that suggestion, telling her that the only drugs available to them were of the alien kind and they could harm the baby.

Ichtaca approached the bars. "At least you're resting comfortably."

"No thanks to you," Ianto snapped. He shifted again, but grunted when he failed to find any kind of position that would ease the ache in his back. He hated this. Whenever his back had ached, Jack had made him lie on his side so he could massage it. Ianto missed those hands easing the tensed muscles, soothing him until he fell asleep.

"I suggest you find a way to control that temper. It does little to help your blood pressure."

Ianto continued to glower at her. When she left, he made sure to glower at Bidziil, who looked away, ashamed. Good. The bastard should feel ashamed.

Ianto reviewed his options. Plan A was obviously a failure. That only meant one thing.

It was time for Plan B.

* * *

><p>Ianto had to wait a day or so before Plan B could be executed. It wasn't foolproof, not when it involved leaving the room and wandering around a spaceship by himself, but Ianto couldn't wait any longer.<p>

When Bidziil left to take a break, Ichtaca bounced into the room to check on him. She always did that, finding any chance she got to come into the room and examine him, particularly when Bidziil wasn't there. Their priorities were the same, but their reasons behind them clashed, causing friction between them when they couldn't agree.

Ianto fingered the fake flowers that were in the vase sitting on the desk. He glanced over his shoulder at her as she examined the information left behind by Bidziil. He returned his gaze to the vase. It was thick glass, a perfect weapon, and he just needed Ichtaca to come into the cell.

And if there was one thing he noticed over the past week it was that every time Ianto felt severe pain, Bidziil and Ichtaca would create the doorway in the bars and come inside to make sure he was okay.

So he bent over and let out a false cry, clutching at his stomach. He only had to wait a few seconds before Ichtaca was there, grabbing his shoulder. "Get into bed and I'll—"

Ianto didn't let her finish. He grabbed the vase, swung his arm, and shattered the vase against Ichtaca's head. She collapsed into a heap on the floor.

For a moment, Ianto stared at the still body. He couldn't believe it had worked. Half of him hadn't expected it to.

He shook himself out of his surprised state and walked around her body. The doorway was still there, obviously unaffected by Ichtaca's unconsciousness—or death. Ianto hoped it was the latter.

He left his cell and approached the sliding section of wall that he often saw Ichtaca and Bidziil use to come and go, and if he remembered correctly, they used their hands to open it. There was no visible hand scanner or anything similar that would scan his hand to make the wall slide open, but there was a tiny circle embedded in the wall that shone a light red colour. He placed his hand over the red light, and the wall slid open. He peeked out and saw a long hallway before him. He stepped through the doorway, and the wall slid closed behind him,

It wasn't as bright, that was the first thing Ianto noticed. He blinked a few times to allow his eyes to adjust from the brightness in his cell to the lack of light in the corridor. Ianto hadn't seen the inside of any ship before, but his imagination had provided him with an interior that resembled the hub: wires, pipes, metal bridges, and computers. This corridor looked nothing like that. Instead, it reminded him of a corridor found in a fancy hotel.

He walked down the corridor, feet sinking into a plush red carpet. He looked left and right at portraits that lined the walls. Some were scenery of places Ianto knew weren't on earth, and some were of aliens. Other Yamni, perhaps. Their faces lacked the mouth and ears. At first he thought there were no doors, but on closer inspection he saw those tiny circles glowing red in the walls. There were doors, they were just in the form of sliding walls.

As he walked, he kept jumping at every sound he heard. The corridor was quiet, and that made him more nervous. He constantly checked over his shoulder, half-expecting Ichtaca to be there.

Ianto reached a junction, and he bit his lip in indecision. Both corridors looked the same, with the red carpet and the portraits on the walls. A noise from the left corridor startled him, and he quickly turned right, walking as fast as he could. He must have been walking for at least ten minutes, but he has yet to bump into any of the Yamni. Where was everyone?

Ianto froze when a disembodied voice filled the area. "Subject 30045 has escaped, I repeat, Subject 30045 has escaped. All personnel are ordered to search all areas of the ship."

Ichtaca must have woken up. Ianto ran—or tried to, at any rate. All he could accomplish was a light jog. He needed a place to hide, but there was nothing but corridors. How big was this ship?

His energy was gone within minutes, and an ache began to blossom in his abdomen. Huffing, he turned to one of the sliding doors. He pressed his palm against the wall, right over the red circle. The door slid opened and Ianto dashed inside.

Once it closed, he leaned against the wall, feeling sweat seep through his skin. He grimaced as the ache in his stomach increased into a cramp. His muscles must be protesting the jog he just took.

His breath heavy, he looked around the room. It was dark so he let his eyes adjust a bit before he could make out the shape of a medical table. He carefully moved across the wall, using it to support himself as the cramp persisted. He carefully avoiding monitors propped on stands and what looked like an MRI machine. The room looked like the hub's medical bay in some ways, but in others it looked like the medical rooms in a hospital. This room was large, but it seemed small with all the medical equipment.

He managed to find a corner that hid him from the doorway, and while he tried to remain standing in case he had to run, he eventually slid down as the pain of the cramp multiplied tenfold, growing until Ianto felt like he was having multiple cramps in his stomach. The pain was excruciating. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to breathe deeply to lessen the pain, but it wasn't working.

Perhaps it was anxiety of the situation, or maybe it was his desire for nothing to go wrong, but whatever the reason, it took a vicious cramp that nearly made him cry out for him to finally realize what was happening. The cramps weren't from the jog. They weren't cramps at all.

He was in labour.

Fear began to flood his veins. "Jesus, not now," Ianto whispered, resisting the instinct to curl.

The baby was seven weeks too early, and he was stuck in some medical room hiding from aliens who have been eager for this moment, and to make matters worse, being in labour meant the disintegration process was starting. If the baby wasn't removed, it would die.

Ianto's time had officially run out. This was it, and he didn't even know how to get back home.

He pressed the back of his head against the wall behind him, despair making want to scream. This wasn't fair. Ianto had gone through hell and back since the moment he joined Torchwood, and when he was finally given a chance to do something good, when Torchwood finally gave him something to look forward to, all his hopes were going down the drain. He had tried so hard to do this right, and he failed. He failed his child, he failed Jack. He failed himself.

He hissed as another vicious contraction seized him, a reminder that his baby needed to come out, and he was sitting there giving himself a pity-party.

"No," he muttered. He swiped at his forehead with a forearm to wipe away the sweat that gathered there. "No, I haven't failed."

He couldn't fail. He wasn't going to let his baby die. There was still time before the sac completely disappeared. He just needed to find a way to contact the hub. He needed a plan. He was good with plans.

He jumped when the door slid open. Lights flooded the room, and Ianto was given no time to do anything before a Yamni with crimson-hair and dark eyes spotted him. She smirked. "Found you."

She walked further into the room, and Ianto was more than a little dismayed to see Bidziil following her. Bidziil's face was blank as the door closed behind him.

"You won't take my baby," he growled. He flinched and grasped his stomach, swallowing down a cry of pain.

"The choice is out of your hands." She approached his corner and Ianto plastered himself against the wall in a fruitless attempt to keep a distance between them. "This will be so much easier if you don't fight us." She looked over her shoulder. "Tell Ichtaca we found him."

"I can't." Bidziil moved closer and crouched down in front of Ianto. "I need to stay with him." He gave the other Yamni a side-long glance. "If you haven't noticed, he's in labour."

The female's eyes widened. Ianto was sickened to see a gleam of excitement. "Are you certain?"

Ianto gasped sharply, curling just a little at another contraction.

"Yes." Bidziil gave the other Yamni another glance. "You can't tell Ichtaca he's here, either."

The female scowled. "Why?" She took a step away, presumably to do what Bidziil just said she couldn't do.

"Because you'll be dead."

Ianto caught a look of surprise and disbelief flash across the Yamni's face, but it lasted only for a second because she exploded into a pile of powdery dust.

Ianto stared at the pile on the ground, confused despite the haze of pain he was in. He looked at Bidziil, who dismissed the pile and reached out a hand.

Still mistrustful, Ianto spat, "You're not taking me without a fight." He tried to spat, anyway. The pain made his voice falter, the words coming out in gasps.

"There will be no fighting." Bidziil placed his hand on Ianto's stomach, the light touch somehow intensifying the pain. "I'm going to help you."

"What?" Ianto inhaled sharply when another cramp seized him. "Why? Yesterday I asked—I got the impression you wouldn't help."

Bidziil's hand glowed. "I wasn't going to help, but then I realized that you're right. You need to go home, where you belong." He grimaced. "But the sac is disintegrating rapidly."

Oh god. "How rapidly?"

"Too rapidly, faster than I expected." The Yamni's expression was grim. "The baby will need to come out soon."

"Sort of figured that." Bidziil's eyes glowed, and the pain in Ianto's abdomen began to lessen. "What are you doing?"

"Slowing down the disintegrating process."

"You can do that?" Now that the pain was subsiding, Ianto's lungs no longer felt constricted, making it easier for him to speak.

"I'm freezing the molecules that make the sac, putting them in stasis. It will stop the sac from disintegrating." Bidziil's eyes stopped glowing. "That will give us a little time, just enough for us to contact your friends."

An idea came to mind. "Can't you just teleport me back home?"

"I'm not as strong as Ichtaca. I can try to teleport you, but chances are I won't teleport you where I want you to go, and I don't have the power to teleport us at the same time. There was a reason why Ichtaca was the only one who grabbed you while others concentrated on your mate."

"So how do we contact my friends?"

Bidziil lifted a palm and projected a hologram. "This is a blueprint of the spaceship. You see all the dots?" Ianto nodded. Several yellow dots were moving within the hologram. "That's all the Yamni currently running around the ship looking for you. We're here, towards the back of the ship." He pointed at one end of the blueprint, where the only two unmoving dots rested. "We need to get to the control room here." The blueprint rotated until another end of the ship was shown. He pointed at it.

"On the other side of the ship?"

"Yes." He closed his palm, dispelling the hologram. "Once we get to the control room, we can contact your friends." He frowned. "But I don't know how to contact them. I'll need coordinates."

"No need. I know how to reach them. Just help me up and get me to the control room."

With Bidziil's help, Ianto rose to his feet. An ache was still there in his abdomen, but he no longer felt intense pain. At the Yamni's concerned look, Ianto said, "I'll be fine." He didn't let go of Bidziil, though. They walked to the door.

"I want to get there as quickly as possible. I can kill the others if need be, but we have to avoid Ichtaca at all costs. If she kills me, my power over the sac will vanish and it will resume disintegrating."

Ianto nodded, a little nervous as they left the room and walked down the corridor. "Do you have any weapons I can use?"

"Yamni don't have physical weapons, just our powers."

"Brilliant," Ianto muttered.

"I apologize for what I put you through this past week." Bidziil looked at him seriously. "I'm ashamed of my actions, even more so knowing that my mate would've disapproved."

"How did your mate die?" Ianto asked in a soft whisper, needing something to distract him so his fear and anxiety wouldn't overwhelm him.

Bidziil stared straight ahead. "She gave Ichtaca the wrong coordinates during Ichtaca's first teleportation to earth. She blamed my mate for the way she looked." Bidziil swallowed. "Ichtaca killed her in retaliation."

"Why did you stay? You hate the experiments, you lost your mate—why did you stay?"

"I wanted to leave, but I felt like I needed to be here so I can help the men they brought here to experiment on. The Yamni here are nothing more than cold-hearted scientists, ruled by logic and not emotion, and they don't care about anything except the end result. Someone needed to treat the humans as humans, and not as scientific subjects." He glanced at Ianto. "And now I think I was meant to stay to help you."

"Thank you," Ianto whispered.

Bidziil relied on the projected map coming from his palm to guide them to their destination, avoiding corridors that seemed populated by dots, and dragging Ianto into empty rooms when a dot got too close. Ianto noticed that some dots tended to disappear, only to reappear in other sections of the ship. It looked like some of the Yamni were teleporting.

Ianto didn't know how long they walked, but eventually all the corridors began to look the same. He lost track of how many turns they made, how many rooms they hid in. At one point, Ianto was forced to hide behind a large piece of machinery that was stored in a room because soon after hiding inside, another Yamni had entered the room. Bidziil declared the area empty to persuade the Yamni to leave before Ianto was discovered.

As they rounded yet another corner, a Yamni suddenly appeared in front of them, a blonde female. "Have you—?" She grinned when she spied Ianto, who was partially covered by Bidziil. "Ah, you did find the subject."

Bidziil straightened. "Yes, I did."

"Good. Ichtaca is having a fit."

"I don't give a damn about Ichtaca." Bidziil subtly moved in front of Ianto, blocking him from her view. He managed to peek around Bidziil's body.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, we all know how important your human rat—"

She exploded. Bidziil grabbed Ianto's hand and pulled him away from what was now another pile of dust. "We have to keep moving. The others are bound to stumble upon the remains of the two Yamni I killed."

Ianto licked his lips. "I thought Ichtaca was the only one who could kill things."

"Ichtaca is strong, but it doesn't mean she's the only one with the power to kill."

It was a long journey, but they eventually reached the control room. Bidziil slapped his hand against the wall and it slid opened.

"Quickly," Bidziil urged.

Ianto entered the control room, blinking at the interior. Again, nothing like Ianto had expected. It was sophisticated. There were ten leather chairs aligned against the walls with five on opposite sides, each with a hanging monitor. Underneath the monitors were panels covered in buttons and levers. There was a bigger panel that covered the entire front of the room, with more buttons, levers, and screens. The most notable aspect of the room was a large glass wall that revealed a view of outer space, a much clearer view than the one Ianto had in his cell.

Bidziil led him to the front of the room where the large panel sat. He pressed a few buttons and released a breath. "The control room is now on lock down. No one can get in, no one can get out, not even if they teleported." He pressed more buttons. "I've connected you to all earth's servers," Bidziil said. "Will that do?

Ianto nodded. That was all he needed. He knew the access codes that would allow him to enter the hub's mainframe. "What are the coordinates of where this ship is stationed at?"

Bidziil quickly looked it up on a separate monitor. He rattled off the numbers. "Got it?"

Ianto nodded. "Thank you."

"Do what you need to do," Bidziil said. He opened his palm to reveal his miniature projection. Ianto noticed a dot closing in on the control room. "And do it fast."

* * *

><p>Uranus and Neptune were officially out, leaving Saturn and Jupiter. That was still too many moons, but Jack sent Terry to help Gwen with Jupiter while he assigned Nia to help him with Saturn. The smaller moons were faster to check, but the bigger moons had so much land mass to cover, taking time that Jack knew they didn't have.<p>

Jack's eyes were strained from staring at the screen too long as he guided his satellite across the surface of Rhea. Craters, craters, and more craters, some so deep Jack had to zoom in close to make sure nothing was hiding in there. It would be easier if the spaceship was big and visible and sat right on the surface, but he was well aware that some ships could be invisible while others could be half-buried underground, partially hidden while the rest blended with its surroundings.

As he moved his satellite upward, his computer suddenly detected life-forms. Jack jerked upwards in his seat. He peered at the image the satellite was giving him, zooming in until he found a long, triangle shape. It was white, blending in with the moon's surface, but it was smooth, shiny, and most definitely alien.

"Found you," he whispered, hope surging through him. The satellite detected several life-forms. Not as many as Mr. Robertson had said, but that didn't mean this wasn't the Yamni's ship.

He was just about to bring up the coordinates when large block letters appeared across the screen. "What the fuck?"

He heard shouts from the main hub and Jack left his office to see what was going on. The others were gaping at the screens of their computers, rousing his suspicions, which were eventually confirmed when he approached Gwen's computer and saw words appearing across her screen. "It just appeared!" Gwen exclaimed.

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but he snapped it shut when he read the words, eyes wide and heart just about bursting with hope and relief.

_This is Ianto. The coordinates of my location are as follows._

Jack quickly snagged a notepad and pen, scribbling the numbers that appeared so he wouldn't forget. He looked up to read the last two words on the message.

_Hurry, Jack_.

"I'm coming," Jack whispered.

"Is that really Ianto?" Terry asked.

"Who else could it be?" Nia questioned.

"We have to believe its Ianto." Jack quickly typed in the coordinates Ianto gave him. When the coordinates revealed the location to be on Rhea, Saturn's moon, Jack smiled. "It's definitely Ianto. I found a ship on Rhea. This only confirms that it belongs to the Yamni, and that Ianto's still in our solar system."

"So what do we do now?"

Jack thought over Gwen's question. He turned to look at his team. He knew what he wanted to do. He planned to teleport himself to the Yamni ship, kill them all, and bring Ianto back home, but he couldn't do it alone. There were too many Yamni, and just a fraction of them had already proved to be dangerous. He needed to take someone with him.

He glanced at Gwen. She was the strongest and useful in a fight, but he recalled her desire to have a conversation with the Yamni, hoping that they would leave Ianto alone without causing any bloodshed. Her wish to give them a chance to accept the team's help and seek another way for the Yamni race to survive would only serve to hinder Jack's plans.

Jack turned to Nia. "Grab a couple of guns. You're coming with me to the spaceship."

He strode to his office. He wasn't surprised when Gwen followed. "Jack, I want to go."

"No."

"But why? Ianto's important to me just as much as he's important to you. I can't just sit here in the hub and do nothing."

"I'm going in there to kill every fucking Yamni that's on that ship." He opened the safe in the wall behind his desk. "No negotiations, no prisoners. I'm sending a message for any Yamni out there in the universe, whether present or future, to stay the hell away from my family. I need someone ruthless who will shoot without guilt. I need someone who will not hesitate to pull the trigger even when they beg for their lives. I'm not giving any of them a second chance." He removed a rectangular device that resembled a remote control. He turned around to look at her. "They signed their death warrants the moment they kidnapped Ianto. Do you really want to be a part of that kind of violence?"

Gwen swallowed and slowly shook her head.

Nia's entrance into his office ended their conversation. She held up two weapons. "Alien guns. Shoots bullets, electricity, laser beams, and a few other nasty surprises." At Jack's raised eyebrow, she shrugged. "Made a few modifications." She caught Gwen's slightly resentful look. "Don't be mad at me just because Jack wants to take me and not you."

Gwen shook her head. "No, I'm not mad at you. I just—" She inhaled sharply. "Jack's right in taking you. I'm not the right one to fight at his side for a 'no prisoners' battle." She glared at Jack. "But you better bring Ianto home."

Jack nodded grimly. "You bet I will."

* * *

><p>Ianto sighed and stepped away from the computer.<p>

"Did you send it?"

Ianto nodded. "I told them to hurry." He rested his hands on his stomach, still worried. "I just hope they get here in time."

There was a loud bang against the doorway of the control room. He looked at it nervously. "No one can come in, right?"

Bidziil nodded, but he moved to the center of the control room, facing the closed doorway. "I deactivated the lock on the door. They can't open it." There was another bang. "But I must admit, if the door is destroyed, they can easily come in."

Ianto nearly choked at that admission. "So even the control room isn't safe?"

"I'll make sure no harm comes to you, Ianto." Bidziil glanced at him over his shoulder. "You _will_ go home. I just wished you'd be going home to your mate."

Ianto laughed, the sound almost hysterical as fear threatened to lodge his throat. There was screeching from the other side of the door, accompanied by another bang. "I have news for you. My mate's alive."

Bidziil frowned, startled. "Ichtaca said he was killed."

"He was. That's what makes him so special. He doesn't stay dead."

The screeching returned, and what sounded like an explosion made the doorway shudder. Bidziil faced the doorway once more, and Ianto watched as his whole body tensed. "Ianto, find some place to hide. I fear they are close to finding a way inside."

Ianto didn't hesitate. He quickly sought shelter behind a small pillar. "Hurry your arse up, Harkness," he muttered.

* * *

><p>Jack and Nia stood in the middle of the main hub surrounded by Terry and Gwen. "Okay," she said, "so that thing is going to teleport us to the spaceship?" She pointed at the little remote control.<p>

"Yep." Jack typed in the coordinates into the device. "All it needs is coordinates, and it'll take us there."

Nia looked unconvinced that a tiny and simplistic device would safely teleport them to the Yamni spaceship. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. It's been tested."

He looked at Terry. "Be ready for when we get back in case Ianto's hurt."

Terry looked worried. "Are you sure it's wise going to their spaceship? I mean, you're essentially going to enter their territory, not to mention that there are several of them and only two of you."

"They think I'm dead. They're not going to be expecting me, which gives us a bit of an advantage. Besides, we're going to shoot them as soon as we see them." That didn't seem to absolve any of the doctor's worries. "We'll be back before you know it."

Terry nodded. "Just bring Ianto home."

Jack delivered his own nod. He turned to Gwen, who still looked slightly resentful of his plan, but who also had a hint of understanding in her gaze. "Hold the fort while we're gone," he told her.

"We'll be waiting," she replied.

Jack grabbed Nia's arm. "Here we go." He lifted his hand and pressed a button on the teleporting device.

Teleportation devices varied. Some made the trip smooth and easy, others caused a bumpier ride. This particular device fell in the latter category. There was a strong sense of vertigo, his surroundings spinning, colours blending together until it abruptly stopped, causing him to wobble slightly.

"Whoa," Nia muttered. "Think I'm going to be sick."

"Be sick later." Jack glanced around, surprised by what he saw. Plush red carpet, portraits on the walls, and low lighting. It was a pretty nice looking hallway. And quiet. He gripped his weapon.

Nia took out a slim PDA. "Eleven life-forms."

"Eleven?" Jack frowned even as he kept an eye out. "Before we left I counted a couple of more than that."

"Well, my PDA is telling me eleven. They're moving all over the place, except for three of them. Uh-oh." Jack looked at her sharply, hearing the alarm in her voice. Her eyes were wide. "We need to move. Someone is—"

A wall close to them suddenly opened and a man stepped out, a man that Jack instantly recognized as the Yamni who helped Ichtaca in the department store. The Yamni halted when he caught sight of them.

"—coming," Nia finished.

"Who—?" The Yamni's words abruptly stopped when he caught sight of Jack, alive and whole. "You!" he shouted.

"Me." Jack smiled, lifted his gun, and took advantage of the shocked state the Yamni was in at seeing Jack alive. He pulled the trigger, and the Yamni screamed as he was encased in visible bolts of blue electricity. Within seconds, the body fell to the ground, badly burned, before it collapsed into a thin spread of ashes.

Jack blew the smoking muzzle of his weapon. "Nice modification."

"Thanks."

Jack walked around the pile of ashes. "Now, let's go and find Ianto."

* * *

><p>When the door exploded inward, Ianto quickly hid behind the pillar. The screeching sound was louder now that there was no barrier to muffle it. When he dared to look around the pillar, it was a bald-headed Yamni with tattoos, his muscular frame making him the biggest of the Yamni on the ship.<p>

The Yamni charged into the room, snarling at Bidziil. They began to argue in their native tongue. When the bald-headed Yamni began to glow, so did Bidziil. Golden auras surrounded both of their bodies from head to toe. They suddenly vanished, golden balls of light replacing them in the areas they had stood. Ianto watched in avid fascination when the balls crashed into each other, the harsh contact resulting in an explosion of sparks. Bidziil and his opponent abruptly reappeared, both of them lying on the floor. They scrambled to their feet, circling each other. The bald Yamni screeched, answering Ianto's question of where that sound was coming from. Was that something all the Yamni did? Or just that one?

Ianto groaned softly and wrapped an arm around his midsection. The pain was returning rather forcefully. Perhaps whatever Bidziil had done to halt the sac from disintegrating was faltering now that the Yamni was using his power to fight a fellow alien.

Ianto looked around for something to use as a weapon, but half of the equipment was foreign to him. Besides, what could he do? He found something that resembled a radio. He lifted it up and studied it, analyzing its weight. He glanced at the bald Yamni, the round shape of his head.

Ianto didn't have powers, but he did have good aim.

He took a breath to steady himself and narrowed his eyes at the bald man. Ianto shifted his stance, rolled his shoulder, and threw the radio thing at the Yamni's bare head. The device cracked into two pieces, but it was enough. The Yamni stiffened and fell flat on his face, body still.

The pain in his midsection vanished as Bidziil reached him. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." He stared at the fallen enemy. "Did I kill him?"

"If only. He's unconscious." Bidziil glanced around. "We need to leave. That explosion was too loud for Ichtaca not to have heard. There should be enough time to—"

"Run away?"

Ianto jerked his head around to stare at the large hole where the doorway once stood. Standing in the center of it all was Ichtaca. Her eyes were narrowed at them both. "Where would you go, pray tell?"

Bidziil stepped in front of Ianto. "It's over, Ichtaca."

She glared at him. "It's not over." She glanced at the fallen alien. "Not by a long shot."

Ianto watched as the bald-headed Yamni groaned, stirring. "Shit," he muttered when the fallen Yamni lifted his head, one broad hand touching the back of his smooth scalp.

Bidziil glowed. "I'll protect him."

Ichtaca smirked. "You're no match for me and you know it." She tossed her head. "Hand him over, Bidziil, and we'll forget your betrayal."

"No."

The bald man snarled as he climbed to his feet. "You're making a big mistake, Bidziil. The subject is our survival."

"There are other ways the Yamni can survive, Masu," Bidziil argued. "Other ways we can find solutions. We're treating him like an insect, and yet you seem to forget that he's a human, an ancestor of the Yamni."

Ichtaca snorted. "You're foolish, Bidziil. Just like your mate."

Ianto saw Bidziil tense. "Do not bring her into this."

"Why not? She was stupid. That's why I killed her."

Ianto knew what she was doing, pushing Bidziil's buttons, and he was playing right into her hands. "You killed her because you didn't like the fact that she made you look like a fool, forcing you to absorb the appearance of a human child."

That certainly hit the mark. Ichtaca's smugness slightly dissipated. "She did it on purpose."

"It was an accident, an accident caused by your lack of patience to go to earth. If you hadn't persisted, she would've had enough time to give you the right coordinates. You forced her to make her mistake, an honest mistake, and you punished her like it was a large transgression."

Ichtaca snarled. "Last chance, Bidziil. Hand him over or you'll die."

Bidziil's response was to point his finger at Ichtaca. There was a tiny explosion against her chest, causing her to stumble back, but it did nothing more. She laughed. "I told you, Bidziil. You're no match for me." Her eyes glowed.

Bidziil's head suddenly jerked back, and he screamed before his body melted. Literally melted, like ice-cream.

"I thought about making him explode, but then realized that making him melt would be much more excruciating," Ichtaca said disdainfully.

Ianto could only stare in horror at the puddle by his feet, his shock lasting only a moment before the pain returned to an intense degree. A painful contraction seized his stomach and he gasped, knees nearly buckling.

"It looks like the baby is ready to come out," Ichtaca said, and she too had that gleam of excitement in her eyes, similar to the gleam he had seen in the other Yamni's eyes before Bidziil had killed her.

Ianto grabbed the panel to keep him upright, glancing back and forth between the two Yamni as they approached him, but he couldn't take a single step away. He feared falling if he tried.

* * *

><p>When their sixth victim died, the blood splatter coloured the walls brown.<p>

Jack lowered his weapon and turned to Nia. "How many are left?"

Nia frowned at her PDA. Her face was lightly covered with ash, as was Jack's. A few of their victims had died at close range, leaving behind dust particles on their skin.

"Three more life forms," she answered. "There should be four, but one just vanished."

"Teleportation?" Jack looked around, expecting to see one of the Yamni appear.

"If so, it didn't teleport to another part of the ship. There's no one else besides us and those three."

"Where are they?"

"Clustered together in one room. These might be the same three I saw on the PDA earlier, the ones who weren't moving. They're in the same spot." She walked a few feet forward and pointed down another corridor. "That way. Not too far."

"One of them has to be Ianto."

Nia put her PDA away in her back pocket. "And probably Ichtaca. We haven't seen her yet."

Jack's heart burned with fear for Ianto, but a tendril of anticipation emerged at finally killing Ichtaca. He wanted her dead, and if she so much as harmed one tiny hair on Ianto's head, Jack was going to ensure that her death was drawn out as long as painfully possible.

"No matter what," he said as they began to head down the corridor, "we're not leaving here without Ianto. And we're not leaving here without making sure Ichtaca is out of commission." He tightened his hold on his weapon. "Permanently."

* * *

><p>"Stay away from me," Ianto growled, and then he doubled-over, an agonized cry leaving his lips as another contraction hit him.<p>

"You're in no position to tell me what to do." Ichtaca approached and reached out to touch him. Unable to move, Ianto could only flinch. "You're a lot cleverer than I thought, I'll give you that. Hitting me with a vase, of all things."

"You're not going to win," he gasped.

Ichtaca arched a brow. "I believe I've already won. The baby needs to come out before it dies. I may not carry children, but even I know that a parent's instinct is to ensure the survival of his or her child. You'll have to let me perform surgery."

"A parent's instinct to protect is just as strong." Ianto inhaled sharply as a particular spasm made his knees tremble. He couldn't stay standing for much longer. "Do you really expect me to lie down for you, make you cut me open so you can take my baby and make him a breeding slave?"

"You have no choice." Ichtaca narrowed her eyes. "I had such high hopes that this would be so easy." She snapped her fingers.

Masu grabbed him from behind, big hands wrapping around Ianto's arms and jerking him upright. Ianto struggled as Masu forcefully stretched out Ianto's right arm, exposing his inner elbow. He kicked back and managed to hit a calf, but Masu only grunted and held on.

Ichtaca lifted a hand, and her index finger grew into a sharp point. "I had promised the Yamni rulers that I would bring back both father and son, but I'll just have to explain that the father died in childbirth."

"I will kill you," Ianto hissed.

Ichtaca paid no heed to his threat. "I would just like to see you try."

Ianto stumbled when the hands holding him suddenly went limp, a burst of air hitting his nape and a loud thump sounding behind him. At the same time, a laser beam nearly hit Ichtaca. She managed to get out of the way just in time, falling to the ground as the laser beam struck the panel. Ianto couldn't stand anymore and fell to the ground as well, right next to the body of Masu, who now sported a bullet hole in his forehead.

Ianto didn't give the body much thought as another contraction took his breath away, this one much worse than the others. He harshly bit on his lower lip to muffle a scream as the agony occurring in his abdomen nearly overwhelmed him. The pain was white-hot; it felt like something was ripping inside of him.

Just as the contraction faded enough for him to release his lip, a tiny arm suddenly wrapped around his neck. His head was arched, but his pain and discomfort were shoved back by a burst of happy relief when he saw Jack and Nia standing in the opening of the destroyed wall, guns out and aimed. Nia looked determined and intimidating, but most of Ianto's focus was on Jack, looking just as intimidating with a big weapon in his hand and the bottom of his coat swirling around his ankles, lips tight and eyes fiercely narrowed with focused determination.

"Impossible," Ichtaca whispered by his ear. "You were dead. How did you—?"

"We all have our secrets." Jack kept his weapon pointed at her. Not once did he look at Ianto, keeping his attention on Ichtaca. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. We've already killed all the other Yamni on this spaceship. Every single fucking one of them. I can just as happily kill you, too. So let me take Ianto with me, stay the hell away from us, and I won't let you get hurt. Or I kill you, still take Ianto with me, and not worry about you ever again."

"What makes you think I'll fall for that? You'll kill me the moment I no longer have him as my shield." She tightened her arm around his throat, emphasizing her point. She was strong for someone in the body of a ten year old.

"You're right," Jack agreed. "So how about this? I can make your death easy and quick, or very horrific and painful."

She hissed at them. "I can easily teleport us out of here. Try to find us."

Ianto braced for teleportation, but nothing happened. He still remained in the control room with Ichtaca's arm around his throat. Ichtaca blustered, obviously taken by surprise. Even Jack blinked.

Confused, Ianto was unsure of what happened, not when he had been told that Ichtaca's powers were strong. Teleportation shouldn't be a problem. But it wasn't until his eyes landed on the puddle that was once Bidziil that he understood what happened. Bidziil had locked down the control room. No one can teleport in, no one could teleport out. Even a blasted wall didn't change that.

Ianto felt a sharp point by his neck. Her finger. "I can kill him. I don't need him, just his baby."

"Don't you fucking dare," Jack said softly, his voice dripping with menace. "If you hurt him or my baby, I'll make sure that you suffer something worse than death. I'll make you beg for me to kill you."

"Don't you see what you're doing?" Ichtaca suddenly demanded, and Ianto heard a hint of desperation in her voice. "An entire race depends on this baby!"

"And I don't give a shit."

There was heavy breathing in Ianto's ear for several seconds. Ianto could practically feel the desperation coming from his captor. "It doesn't matter," she abruptly said. "You won't shoot me, not when you might hurt your precious mate."

Ianto squeezed his eyes shut. The combination of pain from labour and the tightness of Ichtaca's arm around his throat were making it difficult to breathe. He opened his eyes, knowing what needed to be done. "Shoot her."

Jack's eyes didn't look at him. "Ianto—"

"Save the baby." It was difficult to talk. "Please. You have to save the baby, protect him."

"Would you really risk your mate's life?" Ichtaca asked. "Does he really mean so little to you?"

It was Nia who responded to Ichtaca's insensitivity. "Shut it, bitch."

"Jack," Ianto said, nearly begging.

Jack licked his lips, and when his eyes finally shifted to his, behind the mask of cold determination and bravery, Ianto saw uncertainty and, even worse, fear. Jack was afraid underneath all those layers of cool bravado, because that was all it was, false courage in the face of an enemy who held his lover hostage.

Glancing at Nia, Ianto saw a glimmer of fear in her eyes. She might be afraid for him, or she might be afraid because this was her first real confrontation with a violent alien, but that shadow of fear was holding her back in much the same way Jack's fear held him back.

They weren't going to do it. They didn't want to risk him getting hurt or killed. Bloody typical. The one time Ianto actually wanted to die so his child could be saved, and they weren't going to do it.

Ianto tightened his lips, knowing that anything could happen if Ichtaca managed to stick her finger into his neck. He might lose consciousness, he might not, but he definitely didn't want to die without knowing what happened to his son, without knowing if his baby was taken back home in Jack's arms or if Ichtaca managed to teleport the baby back to whatever galaxy all the Yamni were at, and the overwhelming pain stemming from his abdomen told him that someone needed to do something soon.

With no other option, and out of pure desperation, Ianto clenched a hand and swung it back.

His aim was true.

Ichtaca shouted as his fist hit her face. She was caught off-guard by the attack from an unexpected source, and the hold on his throat loosened. Ianto lunged forward to get out of her hold completely, feeling her fingers brush against his nape as she tried to use him as her shield again.

Then a long, agonizing scream rented through the air. Ianto turned his head just in time to see Ichtaca disintegrate from the laser beam. He looked at Jack and Nia, and saw that the source of the beam was from Jack's weapon.

Lowering his weapon, Jack ran to his side. "Ianto—"

"It's time, I'm in labour, the sac is breaking down." Ianto was helpless to stop the babble, trying to convey the information to Jack as fast as possible.

"I know, I know," Jack said, but the paling of his face told Ianto that Jack hadn't known at all that Ianto was in labour. "Nia!"

Nia reached Ianto's side, giving him a false, cheery smile. "It's going to be okay."

Jack took out some kind of device from the pocket of his coat and wrapped an arm around Ianto, hugging him close. Nia touched his shoulder and arm as Jack lifted the device. "Let's go home."

Vertigo struck, his surroundings spinning madly. Ianto didn't even get to see the hub materialize around him before the abrupt change in environment caused him to pass out.

* * *

><p>"Terry!" Jack shouted, cradling Ianto's body against him.<p>

Terry scrambled up from the medical bay. "Is he—?"

"The sac is disintegrating." With Terry's help, they managed to carry Ianto's unconscious form down the stairs and into the medical bay. They placed him on the table. "The teleportation made him pass out."

"I see that." Terry quickly dispersed of Ianto's upper clothing and scanned his swollen stomach. Terry cursed as soon as the image appeared on his monitor's screen. "The sac is nearly gone. The umbilical cord also. I need to get the baby out now."

Jack swallowed. "Will the baby—?"

Terry didn't let him finish. "Leave, Jack."

"Fuck no." Jack finally got Ianto back after a week of worrying, he wasn't going to leave him now, not when Ianto looked so deathly pale.

"Jack, I can't have you looking over my shoulder and getting in my way." Terry was using a marker to outline the area where he will cut into Ianto's belly.

"You can't do this alone. I have medical experience. I can assist."

"No, you can't. You're emotionally involved." Terry glared at him. "Jack, I need someone with a steady hand, not someone running on adrenaline and fear. There's a reason why family members and significant others never perform surgery on those they love." Terry looked at the stairwell where the girls were watching. "Nia, get your arse down here. You're going to help me."

"Nia has absolutely no medical experience!"

"She's going to help with the basics, that's it."

Jack clenched his hands, unable to do anything to help his lover and feeling as useless as he had felt during the past week. As Nia came beside him, she grabbed his shoulder. "We'll take good care of him, I promise."

Jack didn't want to leave, but when Gwen came down and grabbed his hand, he allowed her to pull him away from the medical bay and into the main hub where he couldn't see. She rubbed his arms through his coat. "They'll be okay. Terry's good. You only choose the best, yes?"

Yes, he did, but was the best enough?

Gwen led him to the couch, holding his hand tightly. They said nothing, but Jack took comfort from her presence all the same. It was frustrating to not be there, to not hold Ianto's hand and let him know he was there by his sheer presence. Didn't Ianto always tease him that Jack's magnetism was strong enough to be felt by the dead?

He placed his head in his hands, jiggling his foot. Gwen's hand began to run up and down his back. Jack did his best not to think about Ianto or the baby dying, but that has always been a possibility, and now that it was rearing its ugly head, Jack found himself hoping that for once, he got to have it all. He wanted Ianto, he wanted the baby. He wanted both. He wanted them so bad. For once in his long miserable life, he wanted not to be left alone.

Minutes ticked by, and as time wore on without any hint of what was happening, Jack's agitation rose to levels that even Gwen couldn't soothe. Just as Jack was about to hop off the couch and barge into the medical bay to see what was going on, he heard the unmistakable cry of a baby.

Jack froze, his heart damn near bursting with fragile hope and joy. Gwen placed a hand over her mouth, the sound having as much of an effect on her as it did on him. A baby's cry, _his_ baby's cry, was good news, right?

He didn't have to wait long before Nia walked back into the main hub with a squirming bundle wrapped in towels. "I cleaned him up as best I could, but I thought I shouldn't keep him from you any longer."

Jack stood and held out his hands, gladly accepting the precious cargo. The baby was wailing at the top of his tiny lungs, his skin purple and slightly bloody, but he didn't care as he cradled the infant against his chest. Jack swallowed as a tight ball of emotion threatened to choke him. The baby eventually quieted down, still squirming, and Jack was absolutely fascinated by what he and Ianto created together, from the tiny clenched hands to the tufts of black hair that he clearly got from Ianto. His eyes were open, the colour a shade of blue. He was absolutely beautiful. Even Gwen was enchanted, making sounds of awe at the little baby.

"The baby's okay," Nia said wearily. "As expected of a premature baby, he's a little small, but I already scanned him, and so far the baby seems to be as healthy as a premature baby could be. Terry does want him in an incubator just to make sure, but you can hold him for a little while."

Jack felt some of the burden lift from his shoulders at the news. There was another worry that still lay heavily on his shoulders, though. "And Ianto?" Jack asked, his eyes on his son. There was no answer. Jack looked up to see Nia's worried face. "Nia, how's Ianto?"

Nia took a deep breath. "He's bleeding. Internally. While the sac was disintegrating it was taking some tissue with it. Terry is trying to stop it, but he's having difficulty."

Jack felt all excitement at the birth of his son vanish, replaced by a new fear for his lover's life.

"What does that mean?" Gwen asked, holding a hand to her chest.

"According to Terry, if he doesn't stop the bleeding, chances of Ianto waking up ever again are slim to none."

Gwen took a sharp breath before turning away, her own excitement at the baby's birth seeming to vanish at the possibility that Ianto could die. Much like Jack, she had also blocked out the glaring possibility of Ianto dying as a result of the birth.

Jack couldn't believe this was happening. Ianto was such an integral part of his life, and to wake up tomorrow as a single father without his partner there to raise their son together—the idea was inconceivable. Jack wasn't prepared to lose his lover like this. It was too soon.

"He better not give up." Jack wasn't sure if he was referring to Terry or Ianto.

"I'll come back with updates." Nia returned to the medical bay.

Jack looked down at his son. "He'll be okay," he whispered. "Cute daddy wouldn't leave you. I promise."

Jack hoped that his first promise to his son wouldn't end up being broken.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **Well, we've reached the final chapter. Thank you so much for the reviews! I enjoyed reading each and every last one of them. I hope everyone enjoys this last chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER ELEVEN<strong>

Jack was exhausted, but he didn't move from his spot on the chair, sitting between Ianto's bed and the baby's incubator.

He watched Salted Peanut—_Maddox—_move his hands slightly as the incubator helped the baby keep warm while he was fed through a feeding tube. Although the initial scan reported Maddox as healthy, additional scans found that Maddox was having trouble maintaining a stable body temperature on his own, and when Jack attempted to feed him it was discovered that Maddox was having trouble sucking from the bottle and swallowing milk, lacking the proper coordination to do both. While it worried him, Jack was grateful that those were the only two complications that were a result of the premature birth, complications that were tiny in nature and should be resolved within the next few weeks. Until Maddox could keep warm on his own, he would have to stay in the incubator when not being pressed against bare skin, and until Maddox could feed from a bottle on a regular basis without trouble, he would be fed through a feeding tube.

Jack shifted his gaze to his lover, still unconscious nearly five hours after the birth. It seemed too long for Ianto to still be unconscious, but with the trauma from the kidnapping and the added stress of premature labour, Ianto's body was probably trying to recover, especially when Ianto had nearly died.

Jack was grateful that Terry had managed to stop the bleeding. It had been the worst twenty minutes of his life, holding his son without any idea if Ianto was going to live to see the baby he had carried in his belly. Now Ianto slept, with two small tubes up his nose and a gown on his body to hide the stitches covering the wound that Terry had made to deliver the baby. Ianto would have to be on bed rest for a while to let his wound heal.

Gwen quietly appeared in the doorway of the room Ianto and Maddox had been brought into a recovery room of sorts, but it didn't look as sterile as an actual hospital room. Terry had wanted it made so Ianto would have a place to rest after the birth.

"You need sleep," she murmured, moving close to the incubator to peek inside.

"I'll sleep when Ianto wakes up." He rested his head against the back of the chair, reaching out to grab Ianto's hand. He lightly brushed his thumb against scraped knuckles. He would have to ask where Ianto got them from. There were no injuries that proved physical abuse, but one couldn't be certain that the Yamni didn't possess torturous talents that never left a mark on their victims' bodies.

"He's so adorable," Gwen murmured, placing a hand on the clear top of the incubator. "Bloody fantastic, he is."

Jack's smile was proud. He couldn't help it. Maddox was a handsome little baby, down to his tiny toes. "With two fantastic fathers, it isn't much of a surprise."

"Heaven help us if the baby develops your ego." The baby's head moved in her direction, and Gwen's excitement visibly grew. "Hopefully he inherited Ianto's modesty." She looked at Jack. "You never did say, what's the baby's name?"

"Maddox." Jack glanced at Ianto's relaxed expression, remembering how and knowing why Ianto had chosen that name. Ianto had wanted his baby to bear the name of a family war hero.

"Good name."

"Ianto chose it, named after an ancestor."

Gwen laughed, using a finger to tap at the incubator to keep the baby's attention on her. "I half-expected you to name the baby after a past lover or a one-night stand."

Jack snorted. "I have it on good authority that Ianto would never have allowed that." She didn't have to know that he had suggested one or two names that belonged to past lovers, although the raised eyebrow sent his way told him that she already suspected.

Gwen detached herself from the incubator to carefully sit on Ianto's bed, making sure she didn't dislodge anything. She glanced over Ianto's prone body. Ianto rested on his back with a blanket thrown over him.

"I wouldn't have been able to handle it," Gwen suddenly announced.

"Handle what?"

"Ianto dying."

"I wouldn't have handled it very well myself. Losing Ianto or Maddox." Jack's tone was only mildly sarcastic.

"I know," Gwen hastily said. "I'm not saying you wouldn't have cared, but after losing Tosh and Owen, I don't know how strong I would've been to stick around. I like Nia and Terry, I do, but Ianto might've been one loss too many in the Torchwood family."

Jack studied her for a moment. "Want to know something?" When Gwen nodded, he admitted, "I would've left."

Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't have."

"I would've. If Ianto died, I wouldn't have wanted to raise Maddox in Torchwood, not if I was going to raise him by myself." Glancing at the incubator, remembering how it felt to hold Maddox in his arms, there was no "if" about it. He would've raised Maddox. That was his son. No way could he have allowed anyone else to raise him.

He sighed heavily, looking back towards Gwen. "And if they both had died, I would've left to find a new life, some place where I wouldn't lose a lover every five minutes. Losing Ianto and the baby at the same time would've been one too many deaths for me to handle."

Gwen studied her fingers. "What would you have done if, you know, Ianto survived and the baby hadn't?"

"That really would've depended on Ianto. I would've stayed if Ianto stayed. I would've left with him if he wanted to quit and get away, even if it was just for a little while. He would've needed me a lot more than Torchwood." Jack looked at Ianto fondly. "He's important enough for me to follow."

Gwen was silent for a moment. "I never thought you'd leave," she murmured. "I mean, you left that one time for your Doctor, but you came back. Torchwood is a part of you, I've heard you say it, but hearing you say you'd leave because of Ianto . . ." She cocked her head, studying him. "Ianto said you gave him your loyalty, your fidelity, and your protection."

Jack nodded.

"I'm thinking there's something else you gave him, he just doesn't realize it."

Jack refused to look away, letting her see the truth in his eyes. She peered at him, and then a smile curled her lips. Jack thought he saw just a flash of envious resignation in her eyes, but her overall expression showed acceptance and happiness.

"You best let him know," she practically ordered him.

He smiled and lifted her hand to kiss it. There would always be something between him and Gwen, but it was muted, something that would remain unexplored, and rightly so. Gwen had made her choice and Jack had made his. He didn't regret the outcome.

"Rhys is a lucky man," he said, holding onto her hand.

"So are you." Gwen touched Ianto's leg through the blanket.

Jack sighed and looked at Ianto. "I know."

Terry entered the room, looking as exhausted as Jack felt. "Nia wants you."

Jack furrowed his brow, releasing Gwen's hand. "What does she want?"

"Nia just received a message from the Yamni spaceship"

"What?"

The doctor ran a hand through his hair. "The letters just appeared. It's on all the computer screens, just like the message Ianto had sent."

Jack stood up from the chair. "What does it say?"

"It wants to know what happened to the others on the ship, and demands the baby as compensation."

"Compensation for what?" Jack nearly growled. "They damn near killed Ianto."

"You left evidence of the Yamni's deaths, didn't you?"

"God damn it, when will this nightmare end?" Jack stomped towards the door. "Terry, stay here with Ianto and the baby. Gwen, come with me."

Gwen frowned and carefully got off the bed. "Where are we going?"

"Just come on."

They left Ianto's room and reached the main hub in seconds. Nia looked up from her computer. "I assume Terry told you."

Jack reached her side. "Did they say anything else?"

"They're now saying that they won't kill those who harmed the Yamni if the baby is handed over."

"How do they even know Torchwood is responsible?" Gwen asked.

"They're probably using the same transmission Ianto used to contact us. If the Yamni are as smart as they think they are, it wouldn't be too hard to find."

Jack stared at the screen. They were never going to stop going after Maddox. Not unless Jack followed through with his threat to send the Yamni a message to back off.

"Send a message back. Tell them I want to meet them on neutral ground for negotiations."

Gwen looked horrified. "Negotiations for what? Maddox?"

"No. I told you, I am not negotiating with them." Jack glanced at the women. "But they don't have to know that, do they?"

* * *

><p>When Ianto woke up, it was to find Jack sleeping in a chair beside his bed. Then his eyes moved to an incubator not too far away. He spied tiny hands waving in the air through the clear enclosure.<p>

He made a noise, one that had Jack jolting in his chair. He blinked at Ianto before he grinned wide and fell off the chair to crouch beside the bed, taking one hand in his own while running his fingers of the other through Ianto's hair.

"You're awake."

"I'm awake." The words came out hoarse. He swallowed, mouth and throat dry.

"Here." Jack reached for a jug of water beside the bed, pouring it into a glass. He placed a straw in it and lifted it to Ianto's lips. He drank greedily through the straw. When he finished, Jack put the glass back on the end table. "How do you feel?"

"Tired." Ianto shifted and winced when there was sharp pain in his abdomen. "In pain."

"You have quite a few stitches. It's going to take a while before you can move without feeling the stitches pull at you." Jack's smile dimmed slightly. "You almost didn't make it. A lot of tissue was disappearing with the sac."

Ianto frowned. "But I'm okay?"

"Yes. Terry fixed you up."

Ianto looked at the incubator once more. "And the baby?"

Jack laughed softly. "Healthy. Has a little trouble keeping his body temperature stable and can't really suck and swallow from a bottle, but Terry said it will only take a few weeks before the baby will manage to do both."

"Can I hold him?"

Jack stood up. "Let's get you sat up, then." Jack placed several pillows behind Ianto, just enough to recline his body and make it possible for Ianto to cradle his baby in his arms. "Lower your gown a little, the baby needs warmth and can get that from your skin."

Ianto lowered his gown as Jack went to the incubator and carefully pushed it closer to the bed. Ianto found himself getting nervous and excited all at the same time as Jack opened the incubator and removed a couple of tubes before picking the baby up and carefully placing him in Ianto's arms.

"And I introduce to you Maddox Jones-Harkness."

Ianto was speechless when he finally got to look down at his son. He wore a beanie on top of his head, and Ianto noticed a nappy before Jack carefully tucked a blanket around the infant's body. The baby made a little noise of discontentment, face scrunching up. Ianto was afraid that the baby would cry, unhappy to be in the arms of a stranger, but the baby settled.

Awed, he lifted a hand to trace the tiny fingers, and he made a happy sound when the baby grabbed a hold of his finger.

Jack slid the chair he had been sitting on closer and sat down. "He has your nose."

Ianto bit his lip to prevent himself from crying. He wanted to—his emotional barriers were down and he found it far too tempting to let his emotions go—but somehow he managed to do nothing more than sniff. "He has your jawline, I see."

"Of course!" Jack leaned in to place a hand over the baby's head, gently caressing. The baby's head looked tiny against Jack's broad hand. "He weighs four pounds, two ounces, and is sixteen inches long."

"He's gorgeous." Ianto really couldn't take his eyes off of him. "I've been waiting to meet you," Ianto whispered.

Jack stayed quiet, seemingly knowing that Ianto wanted a bit of time to bond with his son. Ianto couldn't believe that they made it, that both he and his baby survived. So many times he had wondered if he had been doing the right thing by going through with the pregnancy, if he would get a chance to see his baby alive, but none of that mattered now. Ianto shifted the baby until the little body was fully planted on his chest, caressing his son's head and tilting his own head so he could look into Maddox's face, noting the slightly rounded cheeks and a tiny mouth that suddenly parted for a yawn. Maddox waved his hand a little until his thumb was in his mouth, but he didn't seem to know what to do with it. Ianto now understood what Jack meant when he said that Maddox couldn't coordinate sucking.

He glanced at Jack and found him watching them both with a smile. "What?"

Jack shook his head, planting his elbow on the bed and resting his chin on his upturned hand. "I don't think I've seen anything as beautiful as what I'm seeing right now."

Ianto chuckled, feeling embarrassed. "I must look a fright."

"Doesn't matter how you look. You're beautiful holding our son." Jack smiled. "Our son." He said the words like he was cherishing them. "I never thought I'd get to say that."

Ianto tilted his head just enough to invite Jack for a kiss. The captain happily accepted, leaning forward to brush their lips together before pressing harder. Ianto indulged him, mindful of Maddox.

Jack eventually pulled back and rested his head on Ianto's shoulder, close to the baby. "I thought that I was going to lose you on that Yamni ship."

"Are they gone? All of them?"

"Yes and no." Jack pulled back to look at Ianto. "Everyone on Ichtaca's team is gone, but it turned out that there were two Yamni who had left the ship prior to our arrival. They reported to the Yamni elders every other month."

"So they came back from their reporting duties?"

"Yep. They returned soon after we killed Ichtaca and the others, saw what happened on the ship, and contacted us."

"How?"

"The transmission you left behind when you gave us the coordinates."

"Oh." Ianto felt lightly sheepish.

Jack chuckled. "Too make a long story short, they wanted the baby, I said I would negotiate with them on neutral ground, the two came down here to earth where we—me, Gwen, and Nia—waited, and as soon as they appeared I killed one while Gwen wounded another."

"Why did you just wound him? Why not kill him?"

"Because I wanted this particular Yamni to go back home with a message." Jack's smile turned a bit cold. "I threatened to destroy the Yamni if they ever came after you and Maddox ever again. To show them I'm serious, I let Nia obliterate the Yamni ship."

Ianto gaped. "How?"

"Missile strike of the alien kind." The edges of Jack's smile slightly turned downward. "Nia was a little too happy to follow orders."

"Think they'll listen?"

"This particular Yamni seemed to take us seriously, particularly when I blinded him."

"You—what?" Ianto stared at Jack with wide eyes. "You didn't."

"I did." Jack's eyes went flat. "He tried to give Gwen a heart attack. I stabbed one eye to stop him, and then I stabbed the other to let him know I'm serious about destroying what's left of their race."

"That was . . ."

"Cruel?" Jack nodded grimly. "They needed to know that I wasn't going to tolerate their antics, not with the others, and most definitely not with you and Maddox."

"So what happened?" Ianto murmured. He was glad he hadn't witnessed Jack's mild form of torture. He knew Jack was capable of ruthlessness, but Ianto never wanted to play a role in bringing out Jack's darker side.

"He got the message. Said he would teleport home. A minute later, this small watch appeared. Turned out to be an automated messenger, letting us know the Yamni were going to follow my advice and seek other solutions to save their race from extinction."

"So it's over?"

He kissed Ianto's temple. "It's over. You're both safe."

Relieved, Ianto took a moment to bask in the knowledge that he no longer had anything to fear from the Yamni. He no longer had to look over his shoulder to see if a Yamni was there, ready to snatch him or his son.

"I'm glad," he whispered. Thinking of the Yamni brought memories of Bidziil, who had died an ugly death. "Not all of them were bad," he felt a need to say, remembering the coldness in Jack's voice every time he mentioned the Yamni. "There was one named Bidziil. He took care of me. He helped me send the message to you."

"What happened to him?" Jack asked softly.

"He died." Ianto hadn't known Bidziil for too long, but the sadness in him was strong. "Ichtaca melted him." Ianto couldn't hold back the bitterness. "Right in front of me, he just melted." He pressed his lips against Maddox's covered scalp. "He was nice."

Jack gave him a moment to grieve, but eventually he said, "Terry ran your blood—Maddox's as well—through a couple of tests to check the pregnancy gene."

Ianto peered at him. "What did he find?"

"Yours is inactive now, but Maddox's is not. In fact, the sequence of nucleotides in the gene for Maddox is slightly altered from the sequence that had been in your gene when it was active. Terry believes that the slight alteration in Maddox's gene is the reason why the pregnancy gene is permanent for the baby. "

That wasn't much of a surprise. Ianto sighed. "They were going to make him a breeding slave. Use technology to accelerate his aging until he was of age to have sex, and then make him produce dozens of children. They were going to do the same to me, pump me with drugs to make sure the gene didn't become inactive, and try to see if I can give birth a couple of more times."

Jack curled his lip slightly. "Glad I killed the ones I did, then." But then he gave Maddox a curious frown. "But this means that we're going to have a talk with Maddox when he's older, especially if he decides to be with a man."

Ianto groaned. "I don't even want to think about the sorts of problems that'll rise from _that_ talk." It would be a strange conversation to have, telling his son that he and any male descendants from his family line could get pregnant.

"There's something else I've been thinking about." Jack was still looking at Maddox with that frown on his face. "Ichtaca said that humans were just one of the Yamni ancestors, and that somewhere along the way humans mated with aliens, which eventually created the Yamni branch. I thought the male's ability to conceive was because of their alien DNA." He reached out to touch Maddox's nose. The baby snuffled slightly. "But I wonder if maybe that ability to conceive starts with the humans. With Maddox."

Ianto's mouth fell open in the shape of an 'o', staring down at his son. "So they come back to find a way to save the Yamni race, but might've ended up creating one of their direct ancestors?"

It was an irony that boggled the mind, the fact that the Yamni race might have taken its first step into existence by helping him conceive Maddox.

"Perhaps, but the Yamni race won't exist for quite a few millennia and only after several couplings with aliens. We'll never know if Maddox truly is a direct ancestor of the Yamni or not."

Looking down at Maddox, Ianto decided it didn't matter. Whatever happened thousands of years from now had nothing to do with him or Maddox. The only thing Ianto needed to worry about was raising his son.

* * *

><p>When Ianto was deemed fit to leave the hub a few days later, Ianto stayed put. He wasn't going to leave until he could take Maddox home, especially when the rift wasn't one to stay quiet for long. It only made sense for him to stay at the hub to keep an eye on his son, considering that there could be a few times when no one else would be able to stay behind.<p>

As a result, Jack stayed at the hub with him. He occasionally went back home to retrieve clothes for them, but most of his time was spent in the makeshift recovery room alongside Ianto. Terry also moved into the hub temporarily so he could be close to monitor Maddox and ensure no medical emergencies occurred with the baby.

A week after his birth, Maddox was able to suck and swallow without much problem, but he still couldn't keep a stable body temperature on his own.

"And you're sure it's nothing to worry about?" Ianto pressed when Terry delivered the news.

"Yes, Ianto, I'm sure." Terry made a tiny sound of exasperation. "You and Jack are the same, always asking me the same questions over and over."

"Well, excuse me for looking after the welfare of my son."

Ianto ran a hand down Maddox's back as he cradled him against his chest. He has started to keep his shirt partially open at the top so he could press the baby against his skin whenever he held them, something Jack seemed to enjoy. Made him look less uptight, apparently. It was a little uncomfortable walking around the hub with his shirt partly open, but Ianto ignored his discomfort for the sake of holding his son and keeping him warm.

Despite his exasperation, Terry bent over slightly so he could tickle under Maddox's chin. The baby blinked at him. "Give him another week and I'm sure he'll no longer need to stay in the incubator." Terry straightened and rubbed the baby's back as he gave Ianto an indulgent smile. "I get that you're worried, but trust me when I say that everything's going to be okay. He'll soon be able to maintain his body temperature and you'll be able to take him home, all right?"

Ianto sighed and nodded. He trusted Terry, but it was hard not to worry.

After giving Terry his thanks, he left the medical bay. Gwen and Nia were hovering over a computer, and his steps were quick to catch the attention of Gwen, who abruptly left Nia's side to approach him.

"How is he?"

Ianto wondered if it was normal to have friends who fretted over his baby's health the way Gwen did. One would think Maddox was her son. "Okay. Still having trouble with his body temperature, but he should be okay in a week or so."

Gwen held out her hands. "May I?"

Ianto carefully handed Maddox over, murmuring instructions on how to hold the baby's head despite the fact that this wasn't the first time she held Maddox. "Just for a little bit," he said. "I don't want him to get too cold." He settled the blankets around Maddox's body.

The baby waved his hands, eyes slightly open to inspect the person now holding him. "Oh, aren't you the most adorable baby ever!" Gwen gushed.

Ianto glanced in Nia's direction. She watched them with a wary eye. She had claimed that she didn't mind babies; she just preferred not to deal with them until they were older.

"You don't want to hold him?" he asked.

Nia lifted her hands and took a giant step back. "I'm good."

She had only held the baby twice, and while her past experience with her nieces had been obvious in the way she expertly held Maddox, Nia had made it clear that while she thought Maddox was cute, if they ever wanted a babysitter, they damn sure better not call her up.

"He won't bite."

"He cries. That's enough for me to stay away."

Ianto laughed and kept an eye on Gwen and the baby. She seemed to have the natural instincts when it came to holding Maddox, and Ianto no longer worried that she might accidentally drop him, but as a new parent, Ianto wasn't at all comfortable leaving Maddox alone with anyone other than Jack.

Gwen lightly rocked the baby in her arms. "I want a baby now." She looked up and scowled at Ianto. "Damn you for creating such a cute incentive for me to give into Rhys's pleas."

Ianto shrugged. "Blame the Yamni. I would've been happy not going through seven months of pregnancy, thank you."

"But you're happier with Maddox."

"Of course I am." One week with his baby and he couldn't imagine his life without Maddox. It wasn't exactly what he had planned for his life, but since the moment he had started employment at Torchwood, all his life's plans had gone out the window.

Maddox made noises of discontentment. Gwen tried to comfort him, but he soon started to cry. "What did I do?" She looked slightly panicked. This was a first for her, having Maddox cry in her arms, and she was obviously unsure of what to do.

"Nothing." He reached for Maddox. "I think he's just getting a little fussy. The rift alarm woke him up earlier."

Gwen obediently handed him over with a disappointed pout on her lips. Ianto settled Maddox against him, trying to calm him with soothing words as he lightly bounced him in his arms, but the baby continued to cry. Well, if Ianto couldn't stop Maddox from crying, Jack certainly could.

Ianto carefully made his way to Jack's office. Jack was arguing on the phone, a harsh scowl on his lips.

Ianto paused in the doorway, rethinking his route, but Jack saw him and grinned. "Sorry, but I gotta go. Parent duties and all."

"Who was that?" Ianto asked, walking in with a crying Maddox.

"U.N.I.T. They want to send some of their men here to work with us. I told them to screw themselves." Jack circled the desk. "Aw, what's wrong with him?"

"Fussy." Ianto handed him over. "He started crying in Gwen's arms."

Jack began to rock their son, rubbing his hand up and down the baby's back. Maddox possessed quite a pair of lungs, ones that he must have inherited from Jack.

Jack walked around the office, working his charm until Maddox's cries turned into whimpers before disappearing altogether. One quick peek and Ianto found Maddox looking at him with a red nose and wet eyes.

"There we are." Jack leaned against his desk, trying not to dislodge the baby and send him into another crying fit. "What did Terry say?"

"He said that Maddox might need to stay here for another week or so."

"Fuck." At Ianto's glare, Jack opened his eyes comically wide. "What? It's not like he understands it."

"Doesn't matter. I don't want that kind of language used around my son. He's going to grow up with aliens and guns. Can't his ears remain pure for the first few months of his life?"

"Okay, okay." Jack shifted the baby until Maddox was cradled in his arms. Ianto snorted as Jack spent half a minute doing weird expressions to amuse his son. "I was hoping we could take him home today."

"Me, too." Ianto leaned against the desk beside Jack. "We'll get him home soon."

Ianto watched as Jack resumed his weird expressions. Jack looked different whenever he held Maddox, subdued and content, almost like he was actually comfortable in his own skin. Jack had always held this aura of restlessness, but when Ianto had become pregnant, that aura had rarely appeared. And now it wasn't there at all.

This was Jack as a father, Ianto realized. This was a new side to him. Not the leader, not the captain, not even Ianto's lover. This was Jack as a father, paternal adoration in his eyes whenever he looked at Maddox, his whole world narrowed down to the little baby that depended on him for love and guidance.

"What?" Jack asked when he caught Ianto smiling at him.

Ianto's smile widened even more before he echoed words Jack had told him not too long ago. "I don't think I've ever seen anything as beautiful as what I'm seeing right now."

* * *

><p>The first time Ianto brought Maddox home was a joyous one.<p>

With Jack opening the door for them, Ianto carried the baby carrier across the threshold, happy to be home after two weeks at the hub, recuperating and unwilling to come home until Maddox came home with him. Maddox had managed to pass a milestone earlier in the day, managing to keep his body temperature stable on his own, and as soon as Terry said Maddox could go home, Jack and Ianto wasted no time leaving the hub.

Hearing the door close behind him, Ianto ran a keen eye over the flat. It has been nearly a month since he last saw it, and a part of him had expected the flat to be in total chaos. He was surprised to see it clean and tidy.

As if he knew what Ianto was thinking, Jack said, "I kept it clean for us." Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto's waist. "Made sure you didn't come home to dishes piled in the sink and dirty laundry thrown on the floor."

Ianto sniffed. "And how long will that paradise last?"

"Ha-ha." Jack led him to the nursery. "Time to introduce Maddox to his new room." Jack grabbed the knob of the closed door that displayed a wooden plaque that bared his son's name. That hadn't been there before. "I spruced it up, made sure that everything else you ordered was assembled and put in its proper place."

When Jack opened the door, Ianto padded inside and paused just inside the doorway, eyes going wide as he saw the room. The last time he had seen the nursery, it had been mostly bare.

But now, the walls were painted a light shade of blue, the crib pressed against the opposite wall of the door as the mahogany hue of the wood shone under the incoming sunlight. Large letters above the crib spelled the name Maddox, surrounded by what looked like tiny versions of Pteranodon. There was a changing table against the adjacent wall, stocked with diapers and boxes of baby wipes, and there were a couple of sets of drawers that held stuffed animals. On the carpeted floor rested a rug in the shape of a cartoonish bear, and pushed to one side was the baby gym Ianto had purchased on a whim. The best part of the nursery, however, was a rocking chair that sat close to the window, the teddy bear Jack had bought him sitting proudly on top of a blue cushion that rested on the seat.

"Where did you get it?" he asked softly, looking at the rocking chair.

"The team bought it, a few days before the Yamni kidnapped you. It was supposed to be a surprise for the both of us, actually, but when I told them I was fixing up the nursery as a surprise for you, they let me in on their gift so I could surprise you with it."

Ianto turned to Jack. "Thank you." He kissed him.

The baby made a sound, catching their attention. His face was scrunched up, looking ready to cry.

"I think it's time to change the nappy."

"How do you know?"

Ianto took the carrier to the changing table, depositing it on top so he could take out the baby. "Because he was fed and burped earlier." Once he got the baby out, Jack removed the carrier from the changing table so Ianto could lie the baby down.

"This is the worst part about having a baby." Jack grimaced when Ianto proceeded to change Maddox.

"I sort of figured, considering you refuse to change the nappies unless you have to."

"It's gross."

A minute, Maddox was cleaned and changed. "You look much more content, don't you?" Ianto said, subconsciously cooing at his son. Maddox kicked his feet and waved his arms, happily reacting to Ianto's voice.

"Now let's put this little guy to bed."

Jack picked up Maddox and placed him in the crib. Ianto reached up to turn on the mobile that hung over the crib, an acoustic lullaby filling the room while the mobile began to turn. Maddox was immediately entranced by the moving object, settling down and watching the little stars move around, head tilting to the side and blinking up at it with curiosity. It didn't take long before the baby fell into a deep slumber. Quietly, Ianto turned on the baby monitor that sat on top of the chest of drawers by the crib. He grabbed the other monitor and took it with him as he left the nursery, Jack following close behind.

Once in the hallway, Jack immediately hugged Ianto from behind and nuzzled his neck. "How about you and I go to bed ourselves?"

The erection prodding his backside told him that Jack was thinking of doing something other than sleeping. Ianto wasn't much surprised by Jack's strong hint for sex. The last time they had sex, it had been the day before his kidnapping.

Ianto tilted his head to give Jack better access. "As much as I want sex, Jack, I miss sleep. I've barely had any in the past couple of weeks." As if to prove his point, his mouth decided to deliver a jaw-popping yawn. With Maddox crying or needing to be fed throughout the day and throughout the night, Ianto had yet to have a night of proper sleep.

Jack nipped his throat and guided him to their bedroom, as clean as the rest of the flat. "We can't even have a quickie?"

Ianto chuckled but collapsed on the bed as soon as it was within reach. He buried his head in the pillow. "Sleep," he muttered, suddenly exhausted.

Jack lay down beside him, draping his arm across Ianto's body and dragging him close. "It's good to be home," Jack murmured in his ear before giving it a kiss.

Ianto's only response was a grunt, too tired to do much else.

* * *

><p>Within the first couple of months, Ianto managed to find some sort of balance between parenthood and Torchwood. As agreed, Ianto stayed off field-work, and while he thought he would feel useless to the team by not going out on missions with them, he found himself happy just staying with Maddox, waiting until Jack returned home from whatever mission had sent him out. Ianto was always available to man the hub as well, if it didn't interfere with his parenting duties.<p>

Jack continued to have his penchant for roofs, and more than once Ianto woke up to an empty bed because Jack stayed at the hub for something Torchwood-related or because Jack got slightly restless and needed to walk outside for a bit, but there were many nights when Ianto fell asleep in Jack's arms or found Jack in the nursery taking care of Maddox so Ianto could sleep for a little longer.

One early morning, Ianto woke up to Maddox's cries coming through the baby monitor on the nightstand. Jack was beside him, sleeping deeply with his face inches away from his own. Jack may not need much sleep, but clearly the lack of it had finally caught up with him. Ianto quickly got up to cater to Maddox before his cries woke up Jack.

He put on a robe, tying the belt as he went to the nursery. He lifted Maddox from the crib. "There, there," Ianto murmured, going to the rocking chair and sitting down as he soothed his baby. "Daddy's here."

He rocked the chair, letting the back and forth motions calm the baby's cries. Despite all the reading material that warned him about sleepless night, he certainly hadn't expected it to be so difficult. Ianto thought he had been prepared, with sleepless nights being the norm in Torchwood, but the sleepless nights from Torchwood were somehow less exhausting than the sleepless nights that accompanied parenthood. Maybe it was because of the added stress that came with having a baby, the constant worrying if he was doing it right, if Maddox was being fed too much or too little, or if that tiny nappy rash was something to panic about and should be inspected by a doctor.

Maddox eventually quieted down, but he didn't fall back to sleep just yet, sniffling and looking up at him with big blue eyes. "You look like him," Ianto muttered. "Your other daddy. I reckon you're going to grow up to be a heartbreaker."

Maddox smiled, as if he knew what Ianto was saying and agreed with him. Ianto took in the toothless smile with a chuckle. "I figured you'd agree." Ianto leaned down and kissed Maddox's forehead. "I love you," he murmured. "I love you just as much as I love your other daddy."

Ianto continued to rock the chair until Maddox fell asleep. Ianto slowly stood up and put him back in his crib. With a light brush across the scalp, Ianto left the nursery and returned to his own bed, getting under the covers and pressing close to Jack's side, falling asleep almost immediately.

The next time he woke, it was to find Jack lying on his back as he held Maddox in the air above him, making faces at him.

"What are you doing?" Ianto muttered.

Jack glanced at him. "Good morning." He lowered Maddox and placed the baby between them, rubbing his hand over his tiny belly. "I was trying to entertain our son and make him laugh, but he refuses to comply."

Ianto smiled sleepily. "He might not laugh for a few weeks yet."

Jack leaned forward to kiss his lips. "He started to cry when I woke up. I was trying to make sure he didn't disturb you, but he didn't seem to like the rocking chair."

Maddox grunted, looking very much displeased that playtime with Jack was over. Ianto reached down to tickle his chin. The baby squirmed. "That's because you don't do it right. I told you to slowly rock in the chair. You always act like the rocking chair was meant to launch you in the air." He yawned and stretched carefully, not wanting to hurt the baby with his movements. "I'm going to take a shower. If you feed Maddox, I'll make you breakfast."

After a quick shower, Ianto was sizzling bacon and eggs in the frying pan while Jack carried Maddox against his shoulder, burping him. A cloth was draped over his shoulder to protect his clothing from any potential spits up.

The phone rang, and Jack answered it. "Hello?" He blinked and grinned. "No, no, you got the right number. You must be Rhiannon." Ianto jerked his head around, mouth dropping open. "I'm Jack, Ianto's lover."

Ianto waved his hands frantically, telling him to shut up. Ianto had insinuated that he was seeing someone when he talked to his sister several weeks back, a call that Ianto hoped was the first step in reconnecting with her. Maddox's arrival had made him realize the true importance of family, so he had reached out, and Rhiannon had reached back.

But Ianto certainly hadn't explained every detail of his life, and that included the fact that his lover was a man. He dropped the spatula, intending to yank the phone right out of Jack's hand, but it was too late. Jack plowed on. "Oh, nothing much, just taking care of our son."

He could hear a faint shriek coming from the phone. Rhiannon was going to kill him for not telling her about Jack and Maddox, but before he died, he was going to kill Jack. He didn't care if Jack came back from the dead, Ianto was going to kill him.

He glared murderously as he snatched the phone out of Jack's hand before he revealed anything more. "Why don't you tell her that we deal with aliens while you're at it?" he hissed. He turned his back to Jack as he held the phone his hands, taking a deep breath as he prepared to deal with what he knew was going to be an earful from his sister.

Bravely, he placed the phone against his ear. "Rhiannon! Hi."

What followed was ten minutes of his sister shrieking and berating Ianto for his failure to mention that the person he was seeing was a man and that they now had a son. Ianto did his best to placate her, telling her that he had planned on telling her eventually, but that only seemed to egg her on. After Ianto reluctantly promised to pay her a visit with Maddox and Jack (for a "proper inspection," as she put it) sometime in the coming weeks, they hung up.

Placing the phone back in its cradle, he turned to scowl at Jack. "You." He took a step forward.

Jack took a step back. "You would dare harm the man carrying your child?" He nodded at Maddox.

"That was really uncalled for, Jack." Ianto retrieved plates to put the bacon and eggs on, having finished cooking while on the phone. "It wasn't your place to tell her about your gender or about our offspring."

"Perhaps, but I gave you two months to tell her. You kept procrastinating." Jack lightly patted Maddox's back when the baby gurgled. "Besides, this way its better. Ripping off the bandage."

Ianto placed the plates on the table. "I'm still going to kill you."

Jack's own phone rang this time, and he whipped it out of his pocket, keeping a tight hold on Maddox. "Hello?" Jack frowned as he listened to whoever was speaking to him. "How bad?"

Before the conversation even ended, Ianto knew that his efforts for breakfast were wasted. Jack heaved a sigh, promised that he was on his way, and hanged up. "Looks like you're gonna have to kill me later. Torchwood is calling."

Ianto took Maddox when Jack handed him over. "What happened?"

"A tree bent over and ate a dog."

"A tree?"

"Yep." Jack grabbed the towel from his shoulder and tossed it by the sink.

"And that requires you?"

"Well, no, but having the trees of a whole neighborhood suddenly attack the residents does."

Ianto couldn't argue with that. "Need me at the hub?"

"Nah. We can handle it."

He blinked when Jack grabbed a plastic container and put the bacon, eggs, and a piece of toast inside of it. "What are you doing?"

"Breakfast-on-the-go!" Jack grinned and grabbed a fork. "Not going to let this go to waste."

Keys and wallet in pocket, Webley in holster, and coat on, Jack grabbed Maddox's hand and shook it. "Bye, Maddox. Be good for cute daddy while hot daddy goes to work."

"If his first words are cute daddy, I'll make your life miserable."

Jack laughed and kissed Ianto. "See you later."

"Be careful," Ianto called out as Jack left. Ianto tilted his head to look at Maddox's face, who smiled at him. "Please don't let your first words be cute daddy."

He was about to take Maddox back to the nursery when the door banged open, making Ianto jump at the abrupt sound. He angled his body in such a way that the baby would be protected from whatever threat had decided to invade his home.

When Jack strolled in, Ianto's pulse settled into a pattern close to normal. He acted like he hadn't just been scared out of his wits and arched a brow when Jack stopped in front of him. "Forgot something?"

"Yep." Jack placed a hand on Maddox's head, looking at their son. "I love you, Maddox Jones-Harkness."

"How adorable." Ianto smiled as Jack pulled back to look at him. "That is the—"

"I love you, Ianto Jones."

His words faltered. Ianto stared. Jack looked calm, content, and completely serious, his gaze intense as Jack stared at him. He found himself feeling flustered. He hadn't expected such a bold confession. He had long ago decided that he would be content with whatever Jack gave him, that he didn't need Jack's complete love.

Except that maybe he did need it.

"Oh." Ianto floundered for something to say, something a little more intelligent than a single syllable in response to a life-changing admission such as that, but the only thing he could say was what he has always felt for Jack. "I love you, too."

Jack gave him a smile. "I know. Heard you on the baby monitor this morning."

"This morning?"

"Don't cook anything tonight." Jack kissed him again. "I'm going to cook for you."

Then he was gone. Still in shock, he stared at the closed door, wondering if what just occurred really did happen or if he just had a really vivid hallucination due to lack of sleep. Eventually, he managed to make his feet and legs work. He carried Maddox to the nursery in a daze.

It was when he was putting down the baby in his crib that Ianto realized what Jack meant when he said that he heard Ianto on the baby monitor. On the chest of drawers near the crib sat the baby monitor, which had been turned on when Ianto had come into the nursery earlier that morning. The other baby monitor had been left behind in the bedroom where Ianto had left Jack, who must have woken up in time to hear Ianto confess to their son that he loved him as much as he loved Jack.

Had Jack been waiting for Ianto to give him a sign about his feelings before confessing? It certainly seemed so. Ianto had thought that Jack knew how he felt, but maybe Jack had wanted verbal confirmation before admitting his own feelings. Maybe Jack had needed to hear Ianto say that he loved him almost as much as Ianto had needed to hear those precious words from his lover, even if Jack hadn't heard the words being said directly to his face the first time around.

Ianto stared down at Maddox, watching as those blue eyes were slowly hidden by tiny eyelids. He hadn't realized how much babies tended to sleep during the day. Ianto hoped that Maddox would soon be able to follow a more normal sleeping pattern that would give Ianto a little more time to sleep during the nights.

A sense of euphoria suddenly filled him. This was happiness, he realized. This warm feeling inside of him. Watching Maddox sleep, knowing that Jack loved him—Ianto's world that was once so bleak was so much brighter now. His life turned out much better than he had ever expected, and he grinned. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy.

Then he remembered what Jack said about cooking, and his smile vanished. Jack? In the kitchen? He groaned at the very thought of Jack trying to cook for him. He saw burnt vegetables and charred meat in his near future. Ianto sighed and left the nursery, determined to find any kind of medicine that would help with stomachaches because that was love, enduring your lover's romantic gesture, even when it came in the form of horrible cooking.

_THE END_

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Thanks for reading!


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